31. In the instant Application, the Applicant alleges violation of his rights to a fair
trial and to property, which are both protected by the Charter, to which the
Respondent State is a Party. As such, the Court considers that, in
considering this Application, it is acting within the remit of its jurisdiction to
interpret and apply the Charter and other human rights instruments ratified
by the Respondent State.
32. In light of the above, the Court dismisses the Respondent State’s objection
to its material jurisdiction and holds that it has material jurisdiction to hear
the present Application.
B. Other aspects of jurisdiction
33. The Court notes that there is no dispute regarding its personal, temporal
and territorial jurisdiction. Nonetheless, it must ensure that all aspects of its
jurisdiction are fulfilled before proceeding to consider the Application.
34. With regard to its personal jurisdiction, as stated in paragraph 2 of this
judgment, the Court recalls that the withdrawal of the Declaration does not
apply retroactively and only takes effect 12 months after the notice of such
withdrawal has been deposited, in this case, on 8 Mach 2026. Having been
filed before the said date, the present Application is thus not affected by the
withdrawal.4 Accordingly, the Court has personal jurisdiction to consider the
present Application.
35. As regards temporal jurisdiction, the Court observes that the violations
alleged in the Application occurred between 2008 and 2017, that is, after
the Respondent State became a Party to the Protocol on 21 August 2007.
The Court, therefore, has temporal jurisdiction to consider this Application.
v. United Republic of Tanzania, AfCHPR, Application No. 017/2017, Judgment of 22 September 2022, §
21.
4 Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza v. Republic of Rwanda (jurisdiction) (2016) 1 AfCLR 562, §§ 66-68;
Houngue Eric Noudehouenou v. Republic of Benin, AfCHPR, Application No. 003/2020 Order of 5 May
2020 (provisional measures), §§ 4-5 and Corrigendum of 29 July 2020; Kouadio Kobena Fory v.
Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (merits and reparations) (2 December 2021) 5 AfCLR 682, § 2 and Cheusi v.
Tanzania (judgment), supra, § 38.
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