human and peoples’ rights. Indeed, one cannot rule out the fact that in the not too
distant future, the Court may be flooded with a whole range of applications
which it would not be able to dispose of satisfactorily because of the limited
material and human resources at its disposal. In that event, the Court would then
need to make a choice: either to continue with the systematic consideration of all
applications filed before it, with the risk of bottlenecks and the inherent
paralysis of its services or to sift the applications using a set of criteria and thus
transforming itself into some kind of judicial body regulating the entire African
system of human rights protection.
36. To sum up, I am of the view that in the instant case:
- the lack of jurisdiction ratione personae of the Court being manifest, the
Application ought to have been dealt with administratively by the Registry and
should accordingly not have given rise to a decision of the Court;
- since this is a case where the Court manifestly lacks jurisdiction, this
Application should not have been transferred to the African Commission under
Article 6 (3) of the Protocol and, at any rate, reasons should have been duly
provided for such a transfer;
- it was eventually for the Registry to “direct” the Applicant to the African
Commission either in the letter in which it informs the Applicant that the matter
is outside the jurisdiction of the Court or, as in the instant case, in the letter
under cover of which it transmits to the Applicant the Court’s decision on its
lack of jurisdiction.
Fatsah Ouguergouz
Robert Eno
Acting Registrar
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