means that the onus of rebutting the response by the Applicant squarely lies on the shoulders of the Respondent. 45. The Court notes that the Respondent’s attempt to justify the action of the state of Togo in shutting down the internet access based on the protest that took place in there. According to the Respondent, the said protests had the potential to degenerate into a civil war and therefore it was imperative for the State to protect the national security of the country. While this argument has merit and has been internationally recognized as a valid defense to derogate from certain rights, the fundamental basis of the exercise of this power of derogation is that it must be done in accordance with the law. In other words, there must exist a national legislation guaranteeing the exercise of this right whilst providing the conditions under which it can be derogated from. Such conditions may include but is not limited to public interest, national security, public health, public order etc. The Court therefore opined that the Respondent has not shown up either by reference or otherwise the evidence of any such law. On this note, the Court concludes that failure of the Respondent to provide the said law is evidence that their action was not done in accordance with the law and therefore, supports the Latin maxim “Ex turpi causa non oritur actio.” in the circumstances as analyzed it is clear that in the absence of any law the Respondent is in violation of Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. The Court therefore holds that the act of the Respondent in shutting down internet access is a violation of the Applicants right to freedom of expression. 46. In the course of analyzing the application the Court took note of the opinions expressed by various experts in the Amicus curiae briefs. Whilst they are instructive, the Court notes that the parties have adequately espoused the relevant opinion which sufficiently guided the Court to reach an informed decision. J. Decision 47. For the reasons stated in the judgment, the Court sitting in public after hearing the parties, and their submissions including documents filed hereby declares as follows: 13 | P a g e