whereas American legislation required such document for the movement of the atiefacts on its territ01y. 14. Moreover, the said State Depai1ment explains that in reality, the Applicant had abandoned his collection in the basement of the Embassy and did not entrust it to anybody's care, not even to his successor. 15. It was therefore by mere chance that the collection was discovered in 1971 during a mission of the Inspectorate General of the Administrative, Financial and Economic Affairs, at Washington. 16. Thus, after an auditing, the administrative authorities handed over the said items to the Applicant against an acknowledgement of receipt. 17. As regards the Application, the State Department for Disputes concluded its views that it should be purely and simply rejected on the grounds that: • The Court of Justice of ECO WAS is incompetent to adjudicate on the case, having regard to Atticles 9 and 10 of the 2005 Supplementary Protocol on the said Court • The defect of status of the Applicant 18. A first transit session of the Court on this Case was held at Bamako on 2 October 2006. On preliminary grounds, the issue of competence of the Comi was put fmih by the State Department for Disputes, which asked for a written Reply from the Applicant. The latter applied for adjournment for that purpose. The Case was thus adjomned to 4 October for a Rejoinder from the Applicant, who on that date, was represented by a lawyer. 19. From the Application instituting proceedings, founded on the remedying of wrongs caused him by the State of Mali, the resultant Rejoinder opted for the violation of Hunran-Rights-which haO allegedly--been -co1nmitted by tlie-Sfate ·of Mali against the Applicant. APPRECIATION OF THE ARGUMENTS OF THE PARTIES 20. In his Application instituting proceedings, Moussa Leo Kei'ta does not found his claims on a precise text of law nor on the positive law of the Community. He simply invoked the wrongs caused him by the State he had loyally served in the 4 Downloaded from worldcourts.com. Use is subject to terms and conditions. See worldcourts.com/terms.htm