25. Pursuant
to Rule 39(1) of its Rules, the
"Court shall conduct preliminary
examination of ... the admissibility of the application in accordance with Articles 50 and
56 of the Charter and Rule 40 of these Rules."
26. Rule 40 of the Rules, which in substance restates the provisions
of Article 56
of the Charter, provides as follows:
"Pursuant to the provisions of Article 56 of the Charter to which Article 6(2) of the
Protocol refers, Applications to the Court shall comply with the following conditions:
1.
disclose the identity of the Applicant notwithstanding the latter's request for
anonymity;
2. comply with the Constitutive Act of the Union and the Charter:
3. not contain any disparaging or insulting language;
4. not be based exclusively on news disseminated through the mass media;
5. be filed after exhausting local remedies, if any, unless it is obvious that the
procedure in unduly prolonged;
6.
be filed within a reasonable time from the date local remedies were exhausted
or from the date set by the Court as being the commencement of the time limit
within which it shall be seized with the matter; and
7.
not raise any matter or issues previously settled by the parties in accordance
with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Constitutive Act of
the African Union, the provisions of the Charter or of any legal instrument of
the African Union."
27.The Court notes that the Respondent State raises only one objection to the
admissibility of the Application, that is, objection in relation to the requirement
of exhaustion of local remedies.
A.
Condition of admissibility in contention between the Parties: the
objection based on the non-exhaustion of local remedies
28.The Respondent State contends that the Applicant has not exhausted locat
remedies with regard to the alleged violation of the right to equal protection of the
law and the right to legal assistance. According to the Respondent State, these
alleged violations are being raised before this Court for the first time.
7
L
Y