present communication, the King's Proclamation clearly outlaws the formation of political parties or any similar structure. Political parties are one means through which citizens can participate in governance either directly or through elected representatives of their choice. By prohibiting the formation of political parties, the King's Proclamation seriously undermined the ability of the Swaziland [sic] people to participate in the government of their country and thus violated Article 13 of the [African] Charter. 54. In the present communication the Proclamation of 1973 and the Decree of 2001 vested judicial power in the King and ousted the jurisdiction of the court on certain matters. The acts of vesting judicial power in the King or ousting the jurisdiction of the courts on certain matters in themselves do not only constitute a violation of the right to fair trial as guaranteed in Article 7 of the Charter, but also tend to undermine the independence of the judiciary. 55. Article 26 of the [African] Charter provides that States Parties shall have the duty to guarantee the independence of the courts. Article 1 × The independence of the judiciary shall be guaranteed by the State and enshrined in the Constitution or the law of the country. It is the duty of all governmental and other institutions to respect and observe the independence of the judiciary. of the UN Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary11 states that: the independence of the Judiciary shall be guaranteed by the State and enshrined in the Constitution or the law of the country. It is the duty of all governmental and other institutions to respect and observe the independence of judiciary. Article 11 of the same Principles states that: the term of office of judges, their independence, security ...shall be adequately secured by law. Article 18 provides that: "Judges shall be subject to suspension or removal only for reasons of incapacity or behaviour that renders them unfit to discharge their duties." Article 30of the International Bar Association12 (IBA)'s Minimum Standards of Judicial Independence also guarantees that: "A Judge shall not be subject to removal unless, by reason of a criminal act or through gross or repeated neglect or physical or mental incapacity, he has shown himself manifestly unfit to hold the position of judge" And Article 1(b) states that "Personal independence means that the terms and conditions of judicial service are adequately secured so as to ensure that individual judges are not subject to executive control." 56. By entrusting all judicial powers to the Head of State with powers to remove judges, the Proclamation of 1973 seriously undermines the independence of the judiciary in Swaziland. The main raison d'?tre of the principle of separation of powers is to ensure that no organ of government becomes too powerful and abuses its power. The separation of power amongst the three organs of government - executive, legislature and judiciary - ensure checks and balances against excesses from any of them. By concentrating the powers of all three government structures into one person, the doctrine of separation of power undermines [sic] and is subject to abuse. 57. In its Resolution on the Respect and the Strengthening on the Independence of the Judiciary adopted at its 19th Ordinary Session held from 26th March to 4th April 1996 at Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, the African Commission "recognised the need for African countries to have a strong and independent judiciary enjoying the confidence of the people for sustainable democracy and development". The [African] Commission then "urged all State Parties to the Charter to repeal all their legislation which are inconsistent with the principles of respect of the independence of the judiciary, especially with regard to the appointment and posting of judges and to refrain from taking any action which may threaten directly or indirectly the independence and the security of judges and magistrates". 58. Clearly, retaining a law which vests all judicial powers in the Head of State with possibility of hiring and firing judges directly threatens the independence and security of judges and the judiciary as a whole. The Proclamation of 1973, to the extent that it allows the Head of State to dismiss judges and exercise judicial power is in violation of Article 26 of the African Charter. 59. With regards to allegation of violation of Articles 10 and 11, the Complainant submits that the Proclamation of 1973 abolishes and prohibits the existence and the formation of political parties or organisations of a similar nature and that the Proclamation also violates 11; the right to assemble peacefully as the right to associate cannot be divorced from the right to assembly freely and peacefully. 6