that just as he did before this Court, the Applicant had the possibility of hiring a lawyer to appeal against the CRIET’s judgment of conviction, the latter having the obligation to perform all the necessary procedural acts and to inform him of the progress of the proceedings. 37. The Court notes, specifically, that in accordance with article 519 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the execution of the judgment is stayed both during the appeal period and during the appeal proceedings.11 It follows that, pursuant to the provisions, the arrest warrant issued in the judgment of 29 June 2020 could not have been enforced and therefore, the Applicant could have appeared in person to appeal the CRIET’s judgment. 38. The Court therefore holds that the Applicant’s argument justifying his failure to exercise of his right to appeal the criminal proceedings is untenable, and that he could have exercised it and awaited its outcome before seizing this Court, unless the proceedings were unduly prolonged. The Court therefore finds that the Applicant did not exhaust local remedies in respect of the alleged violations in relation to the criminal proceedings instituted against him. 39. Having found that the Applicant did not exhaust local remedies in respect of his suspension and dismissal as well as in respect of the criminal proceedings, the Court considers it unnecessary to rule on the Respondent State’s claim that the Applicant was required to exercise and exhaust the remedy before the Constitutional Court. of appeal must be made at the registry of the court which handed down the contested decision. It must be signed by the clerk and by the appellant himself, or by a defender or by a special proxy; in the latter case, the proxy is appended to the document drawn up by the clerk. If the appellant is unable to sign, this is noted by the clerk. It is entered in a public register for this purpose, and any person has the right to obtain a copy". 11 Article 519 of Law No. 2012-15 establishing the code of criminal procedure in the Republic of Benin: “During the appeal periods and during the appeal proceedings, the execution of the judgment is suspended …”. 12