o0u3t3.ffii
48.|n resolving the admissibility of this Application the court considers it
apposite to make a distinction among the Applicants before pronouncing
itself on this issue. on the one hand, all the Applicants are, primarily,
alleging a violation of their rights to equality and non-discrimination by
reason of the exercise of the presidential prerogative of mercy and, on
the other hand, the First Applicant and the seventh Applicant, in addition
to the claims made by everyone else, are also challenging the legality of
their sentences for armed robbery. The court will proceed to deal with
these allegations seriatim.
49.1n relation to the alleged violation of the Applicants rights by reason of
the exercise of the presidential prerogative of mercy, the court notes that
the Applicants do not dispute that the avenue offered by the Basic Rights
and Duties Enforcement Act was available to them whereby they could
have challenged, before the High court, the alteged violation of their
rights. lnstead, the Applicants contend that "it is so useress and
senseless to refile an application to the high court of the respondent
state" since "the tribunal/court is not independent, fair and just in
adjudicating justice to the parties particularly to which refers to judicial
system ...".
50.The court recalls that in Diakite coupte v Republic of Matiit held that
"exhausting local remedies is an exigency of international law and not a
matter of choice; that it lies with the Applicant to take all such steps as
are necessary to exhaust or at least endeavour to exhaust local
remedies; and that it is not enough for the Applicant to question the
effectiveness of the state's local remedies on account of isolated
incidents."a
51.|n this Application, the court finds that all the Appticants could have
approached the High court to challenge the legality of the exercise of the
presidential prerogative of mercy, the prisons Act, the parole Act a
a
Application No. 009/2016. Judgment of Z6tOSt2O17 (Jurisdiction and Ad missibility), Diakite Couple
v
Republic of Mali g 53.
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