39. The Court points out that, in order to determine whether the requirement of
exhaustion of local remedies has been met, the domestic proceedings to which
the Applicant was a party must have been concluded at the time the Application
was lodged with it.8
40. Furthermore, it is for the Applicant to take all necessary steps to exhaust, or at
least attempt to exhaust, local remedies.9
41. The Court notes that in the present case, the Applicant was prosecuted for
contempt of court and insults committed through an information system,
offences provided for and punishable under Article 147 of the Malian Criminal
Code10 and Article 21 of Law 2019-056 of 5 December 2019 on the fight against
of cybercrime.11
42. The Court notes that, in the circumstances, following a referral from the public
prosecutor of the Bamako Commune III district High Court in respect of the
complaint lodged by the magistrates' unions (SAM and SYLIMA), the Applicant
was invited by the criminal investigations brigade of Bamako on 21 October
2020, and subsequently placed in police custody, in accordance with Articles
8
Komi Koutché v. Republic of Benin, ACtHPR, Application No. 020/2019, Ruling of 25 June 2021, §
61; Sébastien Germain Marie Aïkoué Ajavon v. Republic of Benin, ACtHPR, Application No. 027/2020,
§ 74.
9 Peter Joseph Chacha v. United Republic of Tanzania (admissibility) (28 March 2014) 1 AfCLR 398, §
143. See also, Epoux Diakité v. Republic of Mali (jurisdiction and admissibility) (28 September 2017) 2
AfCLR 118, § 53; Komi Koutché v. Republic of Benin, ACtHPR, Application No. 020/2019, Ruling of 25
June 2021 (Jurisdiction and admissibility), § 92.
10 Article 147 of the Penal Code states: 'Anyone who, either through speeches, clamour or threats made
in public meetings or places, or through written material sold or distributed, put on sale or exhibited in
public meetings or places, offends the person of the Head of State shall be liable for imprisonment of
between three months and one year and a fine of between 50,000 and 600,000 CFA francs, or by either
of these two penalties only. The same provisions shall apply to foreign Heads of State visiting Mali.
Where one or more administrative or judicial magistrates, or one or more assessors, in the exercise of
their functions or on the occasion of such exercise, have been the target of any insult by word, in writing
or by drawing, not made public, intended in these various cases to undermine their honour or delicacy,
the person who has addressed such insult shall be liable to at least fifteen days and at most one year
in prison. If the contempt by word has taken place in a court or tribunal, the imprisonment shall be of at
least three months and at most two years. Contempt by gesture or threat or by sending any object with
the same intention and directed at a magistrate or assessor in the exercise of his duties, shall be
punishable by imprisonment for a term of one month to six months; if the contempt took place at a court
or tribunal hearing, it shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of three months to two years.
11 Article 21 of Law 2019-056 of 5 December 2019 on the fight against cybercrime provides: “Anyone
who utters an insult through an information system against a person shall be liable for six (6) months to
two (2) years in prison and a fine of one million (1,000,000) to ten million (10,000,000) CFA francs or
one of these two penalties.”
11