12. Firstly, it should
be noted
that the Court raised this issue proprio motu
without the Respondent State raising a preliminary objection in that respect.
On
the
contrary,
before
the African
Commission
on
Human
and
Peoples’
Rights, according to the latter, the Respondent State had earlier declared that
“it does not dispute that the complainant exhausted all available local remedies
and
that
as
a
matter
of fact
his
claims
before
Malawi
Courts
were
duly
entertained,,,"5, The Commission itself concluded the consideration of the issue
of exhaustion of local remedies in this matter, in the following terms:
from the Respondent
Complainant
State,
by
of local remedies
the exhaustion
regarding
is no contention
there
“Thus,
56(5) has
In this regard, Article
the
been duly
complied with”.
13. Without doubt, the Court has the power and even the duty, under Rule 39
of
its
Rules,
Respondent
to
consider
State
the
admissibility
did not raise any
of
an
preliminary
application
objection
even
if the
to that effect.
But
when the Respondent State itself -which is supposed to have a good knowledge
of the remedies available in its judicial system and which has an interest in
challenging the admissibility of the application- admits that the local remedies
had
been
exhausted,
after examining
the
when
the Commission
circumtances
arrives
surrounding
the
at the
same
matter,
the
have very convincing reasons to go against this common
conclusion
Court
must
position, and decide
that local remedies had not been exhausted.
14. In the judgment of the Court, such convincing reasons are missing. Here is
an
Applicant
who
seized
with
the
same
matter
the
High
Court
on
three
occasions (once sitting as a constitutional Court), the Supreme Court of Appeal
on
three
occasions,
as
well
as
the
Industrial
Relations
Court,
and
the
conclusion is that he has not exhausted local remedies because he could have
N bp
8 Communication
Commission,
oa
357/ 2008 — Urban Mkandawire v. Republic of Malawi, Decision of the
paragraph
102,
»
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