a)
Indicate their authors even if the latter request anonymity;
b)
Are compatible with the Constitutive Act of the African Union and
with the Charter,
c)
Are not written in disparaging or insulting language directed
against the State concerned and its institutions or the African
Union,
d)
Are not based exclusively on news disseminated through the
mass media,
e)
Are sent after exhausting local remedies, if any, unless it is
obvious that this procedure is unduly prolonged,
f)
Are submitted within a reasonable time from the date local
remedies were exhausted or from the date the Commission is
seized with the matter, and
g)
Do not deal with cases which have been settled by those States
involved in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the
United Nations, or the Constitutive Act of African Union or the
provisions of the Charter.
32. The Court notes that the Respondent State raises two objections to the
admissibility of the Application. The first objection is based on nonexhaustion of local remedies while the second is based on the fact that the
application was not filed within a reasonable time. The Court will thus rule
on the said objections before considering other admissibility requirements,
if necessary.
A. Objection based on non-exhaustion of local remedies
33. The Respondent State submits that under Rule 66 of its Court of Appeal
Rules, as amended, the Applicant had a legal remedy to seek review of the
Court of Appeal’s decision if he believed he had sufficient and convincing
grounds, but did not pursue this remedy. Instead of pursuing the available
remedy, he prematurely rushed to this Court to seek redress. Furthermore,
the Respondent State contends that certain allegations are being raised
before the Court for the very first time.
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