1. The jurisdiction of the Court shall extend to all cases and disputes submitted to it concerning the interpretation and application of the Charter, this Protocol and any other relevant Human Rights instruments ratified by the State concerned. 2. ln the event of a dispute as to whether the Court has jurisdiction, the Court shall decide. 16. Furthermore, under Rule 49(1) of the Rules of Court2, “The Court shall conduct a preliminary examination of its jurisdiction (…) in accordance with the Charter, the Protocol and these Rules.” 17. Based on the above-cited provisions, the Court, in each case, must conduct a preliminary assessment of its jurisdiction and dispose of objections thereto, if any. 18. The Court notes in the instant case that the Respondent State raises an objection to its material jurisdiction. The Court will rule thereon (A) before considering the other aspects of its jurisdiction, if necessary (B). A. Objection to the Court’s personal jurisdiction 19. The Respondent State contends that the provisions of Article 6(1)(3) and (4) of the Law of 24 August 2004 were declared constitutional by the decision of 20 August 2004 of the Constitutional Court and that the said decision is final. In its view, by invoking the same grievance in the present application, the Applicant is in fact requesting the Court to sit as an appellate court in respect of the decisions handed down by its Constitutional Court. It argues that this Court cannot hear the present application insofar as it is not an appellate court in respect of the decisions of the Respondent State’s Constitutional Court. 2 Article 39(1) of the Rules Court of 2 June 2010. 6