submit within a period of one month effective 12 September 2014, including a
copy of some texts of the law to enable the Commission carry out an
exhaustive review of some issues raised in the Communication.
THE LAW
Admissibility
Arguments of the Complainant on Admissibility
30. The Complainant alleges that the Communication meets the conditions laid
down by Article 56 of the African Charter on admissibility. However, the
arguments of the Complainant are focused exclusively on fulfillment of the
condition of exhausting local remedies pursuant to Article 56 (5).
31. On this condition, the Complainant alleges that domestic remedies are not
available for three main reasons. In the first place, the Complainant reckons
that the widespread and targeted acts of physical violence against members
of the victims’ communities and the reasonable fear of such violence
constitute an obstacle to their ability to exhaust the remedies. The
Complainant further avers that the Communication reveals a case of serious
and massive human rights violations and, in that regard, the gravity of the
situation and the huge numbers of victims involved make it practically
impossible to exhaust local remedies. Finally, the Complainant asserts that
the effectiveness and suitability of the remedies cannot be guaranteed as the
national system does not provide any mechanism for collective action or
another procedure for redress of widespread violations involving a large
group of victims.
32. While recognizing the positive nature of the legislative reforms on nationality
carried out by the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire after the Communication was
lodged, the Complainant alleges that these reforms cannot prevent the
admissibility of their Complaint for two main reasons. On the one hand, the
Complainant refers to the established case law of the Commission to support
the fact that admissibility must be considered from the time the
Communication is submitted. The Complainant further argues that
admissibility must be determined based on the facts and circumstances
prevailing at the time the Complaint was lodged and that any subsequent
change of government or legal regime must be considered in the light of the
facts and circumstances of the cause and not in the abstract.
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