and effective remedies do exist but have not been utilised and not in the entire procedure”
adding that “the unduly prolonged nature of the procedure does not apply in matters
where remedy is available (Such) as the ‘Cour de Cassation’ in the instant case, but not
utilised whereas
it could
have
been
accessed
by the Applicants
without the
least
impediment”.
73. The
Respondent
considered
where
further argues that “the unduly prolonged
available and
accessible
remedies
are
concept
is also not
ineffective as they afford
litigants the opportunity to cure the alleged violation”; and then goes on to note that:
“Ironically, the five (5) years which they didn’t want to “loose” before the ‘Cour de
Cassation’,
Human
and
were
spent idling, before the matter was
Peoples’
Rights
(...) whereas
referred to the African
the African
Commission
on
Court on
Human
and
Peoples Rights was functional to hear the alleged violations...”
74.
The | Respondent
Commission on Human
further
argues,
based
on
the
jurisprudence
of the
African
and Peoples’ Rights, “that it is up to the complainant seeking a
waiver “to prove the veracity of the facts alleged either by trying to seize the national
courts or by presenting a specific case where actions in court were finally proven to be
ineffective...” and that in the instant case “the Applicants do not present any evidence as
to the veracity of the facts which they are alleging”.
75. Lastly, the Respondent State argues that “the duration of the handling of the Norbert
Zongo case cannot be referred to as one in which local remedies have been unduly
prolonged” and that “this duration is tied to the complexity of the dossier, the absence of
formal evidence concerning identification of the culprits and the need for the Courts to
respect the principle of presumption of innocence”.
76. In its response on the merits of the matter, the Respondent invoking the jurisprudence
of the European Court of Human Rights, argues that “the reasonableness of the duration
of a procedure is determined
on the basis of the circumstances of the case and more
specifically on grounds of the complexity of the matter, the comportment of the Applicant
and of the competent authorities”.
.
25