In the instant case, the Applicants allege violation, by the Respondent
State, of the
provisions of the Charter, of the ICCPR?, as well as a provision of the Revised ECOWAS
Treaty which guarantees the rights of journalists. (supra, paragraph 7 to 11).
Consequently,
the
Court
does
have
the
material
jurisdiction
to consider
the
said
allegations.
49. As regards the personal jurisdiction of the Court, the Protocol first requires that the
State against which action is brought should not only have ratified the Protocol and the
other human
rights instruments
mentioned
(article 3(1) above,
but also,
in relation to
applications from individuals, must have made the declaration accepting the competence
of the Court to receive such applications as provided for in article 34.6. In the instant case,
records show that Burkina Faso became a Party to the Charter on 21 October 1986, and
the ICCPR on 4 April 1999, ratified the Revised ECOWAS
Treaty on 24 June 1994, and
also made the declaration as required under article 34(6) on 28 July 1998.
The
Protocol
provides
that “the Court
may
entitle Non-Governmental
organizations
| (NGOs) with observer status before the Commission and individuals to institute cases
directly before it, in accordance with article 34(6) of the Protocol”.
beneficiaries of Norbert Zongo and others are individuals, and, as
In the instant case, the
the records indicate,
the Burkinabé Human and Peoples’ Rights Movement (MBDHP) is an NGO with observer
status before the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (The Commission).
In view of the foregoing, the Court notes that it also has personal jurisdiction to hear the
case based on the submissions of the Applicants and those of the Respondent State.
50. As regards the Court’s jurisdiction rationae temporis, it should be noted that the Court
had already issued a ruling on the preliminary objections raised by the Respondent State
in that regard.
2 The Applicants also allege violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is not a Treaty.
3 Observer status was granted to this organization by the African Commission during its 6th ordinary session held
in Banjul, The Gambia from 23 October to 4 November,
1989. Vide www.achpr.org.
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