interest infringed and where they are effective in producing the result for which
they were designed12.
55. The Complainant submits that in the Applicants‟ case, existing remedies are not
adequate and they do not protect the legal interest infringed. In Anuak Justice
Council v Ethiopia, the African Commission has opined that it is incumbent on
every Complainant to take all necessary steps to exhaust, or to at least attempt
the exhaustion of local remedies13. The Complainant states that this Complaint
should be distinguished from the Anuak Justice Council case, in which, the
Applicant did not bother to seek redress before the Ethiopian Courts at all. The
Complainant argues that in this case, the Applicants went to the District Court
and the High Court and did not take the matter to the Regional Supreme Court
because it is clear on settled legal opinion from the Oromia Supreme Court, the
Supreme Court‟s Cassation Bench and the Cassation Bench of the Federal
Supreme Court that there is no prospect of success and secondly that the filing of
an appeal would not have achieved anything more and would simply have
unduly prolonged an already protracted process.
56. The Complainant further argues that in Ato Bekele Welde Michael & 25 Ors v the
State14 , the Applicants sued the West Shoa Administrative Zonal Mine and
Energy office in respect of the renewal of their revoked licenses. The High Court
in West Shoa decided against the Appellants. The Appellants appealed to the
Oromia Supreme Court and that Court confirmed the West Shoa Court‟s decision
on the basis that it had found no error of law15. The Appellants appealed to the
Cassation Bench of Oromia‟s Supreme Court, which decided that there was no
Parque Sao Lucas v Brasil, Case 10.31, Inter-Am CHR, Report para 31.
Justice Council v Ethiopia 299/ 05 para 58.
14
Case No 10597.
15 File No. 649 13.
12
13Anuak
16