48. Article 56(6) of the African Charter provides that the Commission shall consider
Communications which "are submitted within a reasonable period from the time
domestic remedies are exhausted or from the date the Commission is seized of the
matter." In its jurisprudence, the Commission has held that it estimates the timeliness
of a Communication from the date that the last available local remedy is exhausted
by the Complainant. In the case of unavailability or prolongation of local remedies, it
will be from the date of the Complainant's notice thereof.14
49. In light of the fact that the African Charter does not define what constitutes" a
reasonable period of time," the Commission treats each case on its own merits.l> The
Commission has also held that where there is a good and compelling reason why a
Complainant could not submit his/her complaint for consideration of time, the
Commission may examine the complaint to ensure fairness and justice."
50. In the present case, the Communication was submitted to the Commission on 04 April
2016, whereas the information provided by the Complainants indicates that the trial
against the Victim concluded on 16 June 2015. This is a period of ten (10) months.
51. Furthermore, the Complainants submitted that the complaint was forwarded within
a reasonable time" after waiting to see what would be the position of the Egyptian
judiciary on the issues forwarded to them, to assess their independence and
responsibility to follow due process." However, the Complainants do not provide any
information on whether appeal proceedings had been initiated and/ or concluded,
thus warranting a delay in approaching the Commission. More so, the Complainants'
submission on Article 56(6) contradicts their submissions on Article 56(5), in which
they averred that "national means to exhaust domestic remedies after the coup has
become impossible," and further that 'there is no opportunity for national justice in
Egypt if the judiciary in Egypt has collapsed by subduing itself to the military rulers'
leading the country.'
52. If the Complainants were of the view that no possibility existed for exhaustion of
domestic remedies in the Respondent State, nothing therefore precluded them from
submitting the Communication to the Commission immediately after the conclusion
of the victim's trial on 16 June 2015.
53. In this regard the Commission takes note of its jurisprudence in Lawyers for Human
Rights (Swaziland) v. The Kingdom of Swaziland in which it held that: submitting
a Communication thirty-four months after, with knowledge of the unavailability of
local remedies, without any reason to explain such a long interval is clearly
14 Communication
322/2006: Tsatu Tsikata v. Ghana (2006) ACHPR, para 51
Communication 310105: Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre v. Sudan (2009) ACHPR, para 75
16 Communication 308/05: Michael Majuru v. Zimbabwe (2008) ACHPR, para
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