90. The Court considers that regarding the allegation being examined, the
question for determination is whether the Respondent State’s courts
violated the Applicant's right to a fair trial by failing to refer the case to the
Court of Appeal.
91. The Court recalls its jurisprudence in Alex Thomas v. United Republic of
Tanzania14 that:
This Court does not accept the Respondent's contention that, the
issue of manifest errors at trial are not within the purview of this
Court because the Court of Appeal of Tanzania has determined
them with finality. Though this Court is not an appellate body with
respect to decisions of national courts, this does not preclude it
from examining relevant proceedings in the national courts in
order to determine whether they are in accordance with the
standards set out in the Charter or any other human rights
instrument ratified by the State concerned. With regard to
manifest errors in proceedings at national courts, this Court will
examine whether the national courts applied appropriate
principles and international standards in resolving the errors. This
is the approach that has been adopted by similar international
courts.
92. As it has also held in in Kijiji Isiaga v. United Republic of Tanzania:15
The Court underscores that domestic courts enjoy a wide margin
of appreciation in evaluating the probative value of a particular
evidence. As an international human rights court, the Court
cannot take up this role from the domestic courts and investigate
the details and particularities of evidence used in domestic
proceedings.
14 Thomas v. Tanzania (merits), supra, § 130.
15 Kijiji Isiaga v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (21 March 2018) 2 AfCLR 218, §§ 65 and 66.
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