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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2023 |
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Provisional measures must relate to the original application; Court lacked prima facie jurisdiction over the unrelated request.
Provisional measures — prima facie jurisdiction — request must emanate from and be linked to the original application — no link between electoral complaint and later request concerning sanctions against a third State — Court prima facie incompetent.
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18 December 2023 |
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Application on Internet shutdown dismissed as inadmissible for failure to exhaust domestic remedies despite State default.
* Human rights — Freedom of opinion and expression — Alleged violation by nationwide Internet shutdown during elections.
* Admissibility — Exhaustion of domestic remedies — Constitutional Court available and effective; exemption requires concrete proof.
* Procedure — Default judgment — State’s failure to file observations after proper notification allows Court to render default judgment.
* Jurisdiction — Court competent materially, personally, temporally and territorially.
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4 December 2023 |
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Mandatory death sentences and hanging violate the African Charter; State must reform law, re-sentence applicants and report implementation.
Human rights — Criminal procedure — Death penalty — Mandatory death sentence incompatible with Charter — Method of execution (hanging) violates human dignity — Court competence and admissibility — Exhaustion of domestic remedies — Fair trial and evidentiary discretion of national courts.
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4 December 2023 |
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Mandatory death sentences and hanging violate the African Charter’s protections for life and human dignity.
Human-rights law — competence of the African Court to review conformity of national criminal proceedings with Charter standards; admissibility — exhaustion of domestic remedies where highest national court has ruled; substantive law — mandatory death penalty violates right to life (article 4); method of execution by hanging violates human dignity (article 5); reparations — moral damages, legislative reform, retrial and publication orders.
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4 December 2023 |
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The Court declared the applicant's application inadmissible for failure to exhaust domestic remedies while national cassation was pending.
* Human rights – Admissibility – Exhaustion of domestic remedies – Application inadmissible where national cassation appeal was pending and not shown to be abnormally prolonged.
* Jurisdiction – Effect of State’s Article 34(6) declaration and subsequent withdrawal – withdrawal not affect applications filed before its effective date.
* Fair trial, access to justice, effective remedy and dignity of detained persons – alleged but not examined on merits due to inadmissibility.
* Costs – Each party to bear its own procedural costs.
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4 December 2023 |
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Applicant’s claim of unfair conviction based on weak evidence was dismissed; Court found no Article 7(1) violation.
Default judgment – State non‑response after proper notification; Jurisdiction – Article 34(6) declaration and effect of withdrawal; Admissibility – exhaustion of domestic remedies and reasonable delay; Fair trial – assessment of evidence, doctrine of recent possession, appellate review; Reparations – only where violation established.
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4 December 2023 |
| November 2023 |
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Whether the Court should reopen proceedings to obtain proof of the applicant’s age and the trial court record.
Human rights – criminal procedure – reopening of debates; Court’s discretion under Rules 46(3), 55 and 90; proof of age as essential factual element; obligation to produce trial court record.
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20 November 2023 |
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Court finds mandatory death sentence arbitrary and hanging degrading, orders re-sentencing and legal reforms, rejects most fair-trial complaints.
* Human rights – Right to life – Mandatory death penalty – Mandatory imposition of death sentence constitutes arbitrary deprivation of life (Article 4). * Human rights – Dignity – Execution by hanging degrading; violation of Article 5. * Admissibility – Exhaustion of domestic remedies and reasonable time – satisfied where highest domestic court rendered final decision; six months and nine days reasonable. * Fair trial – Article 7 – Court will not substitute its appreciation for domestic courts absent manifest procedural errors.
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7 November 2023 |
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Application declared inadmissible for unreasonable delay despite exhaustion of domestic remedies and Court's competence.
Jurisdiction — material competence to assess conformity of domestic proceedings with the African Charter; Exhaustion of domestic remedies — ordinary judicial remedies up to Court of Appeal suffice; Admissibility — requirement to file within a reasonable time from State's declaration; Incarceration or indigence must be proved to justify delay.
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7 November 2023 |
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Application declared inadmissible for excessive delay despite Court’s competence to review Charter violations.
• Human rights – Criminal procedure – Review of conformity of national trials with African Charter guarantees (article 7) • Admissibility – Exhaustion of domestic remedies satisfied where highest national court decided appeals • Admissibility – Reasonable time requirement; excessive delay (6+ years) may render application inadmissible • Jurisdiction – Court not a court of appeal but can order remedies including release • Procedural – Withdrawal of Article 34(6) declaration not affecting cases filed before its effective date
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7 November 2023 |
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Applicants' procedural and evidentiary complaints in a drug trial were declared admissible but did not breach fair trial rights.
* Competence – Material competence of the African Court to assess conformity of national criminal procedures with Charter rights without acting as appellate court.
* Admissibility – Exhaustion of domestic remedies and timeliness; extraordinary remedies not required; reasonableness of filing delay for incarcerated applicants.
* Fair trial (Article 7) – evidentiary issues: weight/packaging of exhibit, proof of possession, chain of custody and delay in forensic analysis.
* Remedies – No reparations where no violation established; each party bears own costs.
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7 November 2023 |
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Mandatory death penalty and hanging violate the Charter; unlawful trial delay breached fair‑trial guarantees.
Human rights – Criminal procedure – Mandatory death penalty incompatible with individualized sentencing – Execution by hanging incompatible with dignity – Right to be tried within a reasonable time – Competence and admissibility of individual petition – Remedies: moral damages, legislative reform and publication.
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7 November 2023 |
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Mandatory death penalty and excessive pre‑trial detention violated the applicant’s rights under the African Charter.
Competence of the African Court; admissibility—exhaustion of domestic remedies and reasonable filing delay; fair trial—admissibility of confessions, hearsay, assistance of counsel; unreasonable pre‑trial detention; mandatory death penalty violates Article 4 (right to life); death‑row detention and human dignity; remedies and legislative reform to abolish mandatory death penalty.
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7 November 2023 |
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Application declared inadmissible for failure to exhaust available domestic remedies before the African Court.
* Human rights — Admissibility — Exhaustion of domestic remedies — Administrative annulment and appellate remedies must be pursued and proven. * Competence — Withdrawal of Article 34(6) declaration has no retroactive effect on applications filed before its entry into force. * Criminal procedure — Appeal against CRIET convictions available by counsel and suspends execution. * Provisional measures — Moot where application declared inadmissible.
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7 November 2023 |
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Court finds denial of free legal assistance violated right to defence; awards modest compensation and orders legal aid reform.
Competence and admissibility — jurisdictional and temporal competence; exhaustion of domestic remedies and reasonable time for filing; fair trial rights — scope of right to be heard; right to defence — obligation to provide free legal assistance ex officio in serious criminal cases; remedies — compensation, legislative reform and reporting; refusal of release and retrial.
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7 November 2023 |
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Application alleging fair-trial and equality violations declared inadmissible due to unreasonable delay after exhaustion of domestic remedies.
Competence of African Court to review conformity of national criminal proceedings with the African Charter; exhaustion of domestic remedies satisfied where appeals reached highest national court; admissibility—reasonable-time requirement; remedy powers include release.
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7 November 2023 |
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Applicants failed to prove violations of access to courts, reasonable‑time trial, or judicial independence; case dismissed.
* African Court jurisdiction – competence to hear alleged violations of Charter rights in national labour disputes; admissibility – exhaustion of domestic remedies and time-limits; requirement to indicate alleged rights violated. * Fair trial – access to competent national courts (article 7(1)(a) Charter; article 2(3) ICCPR). * Right to be tried within reasonable time (article 7(1)(d) Charter) – assessment of national delays. * Independence of the judiciary (article 26 Charter) – requirement to plead and prove facts. * Remedies – no reparations where no violation established. * Costs – each party bears own costs.
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7 November 2023 |
| October 2023 |
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Court reopens proceedings and grants applicant 14 days to reply after State’s late response in a capital-case filing.
Procedure – Reopening of debates – Rule 46(3) discretion; Inherent powers – Rule 90; Time limits – Article/Rule 45(1) on late filings; Right to life – mandatory death penalty issues; Interest of justice – entitlement to file reply to late State response.
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26 October 2023 |
| September 2023 |
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Alleged coerced confession, circumstantial evidence and unproven alibi did not establish Charter violations; application dismissed.
Criminal procedure — International human rights review of domestic criminal proceedings — Jurisdiction of African Court over national evidentiary findings; admissibility — exhaustion of local remedies; fair trial — voluntariness of caution/confession, circumstantial evidence, and statutory requirements for raising an alibi; Article 5 dignity and death penalty.
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5 September 2023 |
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Applicant’s fair-trial complaints dismissed; no violation of rights to be informed, to a hearing, or to defence found.
Human rights—Jurisdiction and admissibility—Exhaustion of domestic remedies; Fair trial—right to be informed of charges; right to defence—calling witnesses; Identification evidence and appraisal of proofs by national courts.
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5 September 2023 |
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No fair‑trial violation found where indictment irregularity was remedied and evidence was sufficiently corroborated.
* Human rights – Right to a fair trial (article 7(1) African Charter) – Court may examine national criminal procedures for Charter compliance though it is not a criminal appellate court.
* Admissibility – Exhaustion of local remedies and reasonable time – incarceration and limited access to information may justify longer delays.
* Criminal procedure – Defective indictment – correction or sentencing on correct charge can cure initial irregularity.
* Evidence – Competence of child witness, voir dire and requirement for corroboration – overall assessment of corroborating evidence and absence of manifest error.
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5 September 2023 |
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5 September 2023 |
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Applicants’ claims of denial of access, undue delay, judicial partiality, inequality and discrimination were dismissed.
Access to courts – exhaustion of domestic remedies – reasonable time – complexity and parties’ conduct – presumption of judicial independence and impartiality – equality before the law – non‑discrimination – reparations not awarded where violations not established.
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5 September 2023 |
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Failure to provide free counsel in a serious criminal case violated the right to defense; compensation awarded, conviction upheld.
* Jurisdiction — Court’s competence to assess conformity of national proceedings with the African Charter; not an appellate court. * Admissibility — exhaustion of domestic remedies and reasonable time; special regard to indigent, incarcerated applicants. * Right to fair trial — duty to provide free legal assistance ex officio in serious criminal cases (trial and appeal); failure to inform of legal-aid entitlement breaches article 7(1)(c). * Remedies — moral damages, implementation reports; conviction not automatically annulled absent impact on guilt.
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5 September 2023 |
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State violated rights to life, remedy, health, environment and information by permitting and inadequately responding to toxic-waste dumping.
• Human-rights jurisdiction — Algiers Convention and environment-related treaties fall within Court’s material competence. • Admissibility — NGOs’ standing; exhaustion of domestic remedies where highest national court’s final decision exists; reasonable time satisfied. • State obligations — prevent, investigate, prosecute and provide redress for harms from hazardous waste; duty to ensure health, environment and information rights. • Remedies — victims’ compensation fund, independent inquiry and prosecutions, medical assistance, legislative reforms including corporate liability, publication and reporting requirements.
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5 September 2023 |
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Applicant succeeded on denial of legal aid and corporal punishment; other fair-trial complaints were dismissed.
Human rights — jurisdiction and admissibility of communications; fair trial — right to legal assistance for indigent accused (article 7(1)(c) Charter; ICCPR art.14(3)(d)); prohibition of corporal punishment — violation of dignity (article 5 Charter); timeliness and other fair-trial complaints dismissed; reparations and legislative reform ordered.
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5 September 2023 |
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Requête pour violation du droit à un procès équitable déclarée irrecevable pour dépôt hors délai non justifié.
* Droits de la défense et procès équitable – Allégations d'irrégularités de l'acte d'accusation, absence d'assistance judiciaire gratuite et châtiment corporel.
* Compétence de la Cour – compétence matérielle, temporelle, personnelle et territoriale pour examiner des violations continues.
* Recevabilité – épuisement des recours internes et délai raisonnable de saisine; dépôt hors délai déclaré irrecevable.
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5 September 2023 |
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An interpretation request was declared inadmissible because the contested dispositif was clear and the request did not aim to facilitate execution.
• Interpretation of judgments – competence under Article 28(4) of the Protocol – Rule 77 of the Rules of Court – conditions for admissibility (twelve‑month time limit; precise identification of dispositif; objective of facilitating execution).
• Admissibility – interpretation request inadmissible where dispositive is clear and no difficulty of comprehension exists.
• Procedural law – exhaustion of domestic remedies and prematurity of international application.
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5 September 2023 |
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Court found violations of the right to a trial within reasonable time and execution of judgments; ordered execution and modest reparations.
* Jurisdiction — personal and temporal — effect of withdrawal of Article 34(6) declaration; continuous violations; instant versus continuing acts
* Admissibility — exhaustion of domestic remedies; reasonable delay in filing
* Fair trial — right to be tried within reasonable time; right to execution of domestic judgments (Article 7)
* Other rights — information (Article 9), dignity (Article 5), equality (Article 3), non‑discrimination (Article 2) — claims dismissed
* Remedies — execution order, moratory interest, enforcement costs, modest compensatory and moral damages
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5 September 2023 |
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Application alleging unlawful killing dismissed as inadmissible for failure to exhaust domestic remedies despite applicant’s standing.
* Jurisdiction – Court’s competence: material, personal, temporal and territorial under the Protocol and Charter.
* Standing – Individual applicants may bring claims; familial filiation can establish quality to sue.
* Admissibility – Exhaustion of domestic remedies required; available criminal, civil and constitutional remedies must ordinarily be attempted.
* Burden of proof – Applicant must demonstrate unavailability or ineffectiveness of domestic remedies; general assertions insufficient.
* Remedies – Failure to initiate domestic proceedings may render international application inadmissible.
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5 September 2023 |
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5 September 2023 |
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Court found denial of free legal assistance violated fair trial rights but upheld convictions and awarded moral damages.
* Competence — African Court may review conformity of national proceedings with the Charter but is not an appellate court.
* Admissibility — Exhaustion of ordinary domestic remedies required; extraordinary remedies not mandatory; filing delay assessed case-by-case.
* Fair trial — evidence and alibi: no manifest miscarriage of justice where national courts reasonably assessed identification evidence.
* Right to counsel — State violated duty to provide free legal assistance to indigent accused of serious offences (article 7(1)(c) Charte read with ICCPR art.14(3)(d)).
* Remedies — moral compensation awarded; convictions upheld absent arbitrariness; State ordered to implement measures and report.
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5 September 2023 |
| August 2023 |
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A prior litigant cannot be a neutral amicus; intervention requires proven interest and identical object, application rejected.
Intervention — distinction between amicus curiae and intervenor — Rule 55 and Rule 61 — admissibility requirements: interest and identity of object — prior litigant cannot claim amicus neutrality — avoiding inconsistent decisions insufficient basis for intervention.
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30 August 2023 |
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Court orders respondent to ensure detainees' access to chosen lawyers and doctors and to clarify detention grounds.
Human rights — Provisional measures — Article 27(2) Protocol — Prima facie jurisdiction — Urgency and risk of irreparable harm — Access to counsel and medical care — State duty to provide precise legal and factual reasons for detention — Refusal to order release or suspend conviction at provisional stage.
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28 August 2023 |
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Court reformulates application title to named individual applicants as a purely formal amendment and reserves further procedure.
• Judicial recusal – judge of respondent State nationality recused under Article 22 of the Protocol and Rule 9(2) of the Rules
• Procedural powers – Rule 90 authorises the Court to take acts necessary to achieve justice, including formal amendments
• Form v. substance – reformulation of case title from an organisation to natural persons is a procedural/formal change that does not affect substance
• Case management – Court may amend titles to reflect accurate party status and reserve further procedure
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23 August 2023 |
| July 2023 |
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Applicants' unparticularized request for provisional measures dismissed for failure to show extreme gravity, urgency, or irreparable harm.
Provisional measures — jurisdiction prima facie — effect of withdrawal of Article 34(6) declaration — requirement of extreme gravity, urgency and risk of irreparable harm — rejection of unparticularized request.
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26 July 2023 |
| June 2023 |
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Executive interdiction on issuing identity and nationality documents to "wanted" persons breaches presumption of innocence and right to nationality.
Human rights — Presumption of innocence — Executive interministerial order refusing official acts to persons "wanted" — Public listing and administrative measures producing perception of guilt without irrevocable judicial finding — Violation of article 7(1)(b) African Charter; Nationality rights — Administrative prohibition on issuance/cancellation of nationality/identity documents — Arbitrary deprivation and disproportionate interference — Violation of article 5 African Charter and article 15 UDHR; Admissibility — Exhaustion of domestic remedies satisfied where Constitutional Court issued final, erga omnes decision; Jurisdiction — Court competent despite later withdrawal of Article 34(6) declaration for applications filed before withdrawal took effect.
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13 June 2023 |
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Court found violations for denial of free legal aid and failure to inform/facilitate consular assistance, but not for evaluation of evidence.
• Human rights – Fair trial (article 7(1)(c) African Charter) – Right to legal assistance of counsel; free legal aid for indigent accused facing heavy sentences. • Consular rights – Vienna Convention article 36(1) – Obligation to inform detained foreign nationals and facilitate consular assistance. • Admissibility – Exhaustion of domestic remedies and reasonable time for filing before regional court. • Standard of review – Not an appellate court but may assess conformity of domestic procedures with Charter; defer to national evidence evaluation absent denial of justice.
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13 June 2023 |
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Convicted in absentia, the applicant’s alleged fair-trial and defence rights were not violated according to the African Court.
• Human rights – Fair trial – Trial in absentia permitted under domestic procedure where accused absconds; later opportunity to challenge conviction on arrest; no violation of right to defense. • Evidence – Conviction may rest on corroborated witness testimony and medical evidence; voir dire properly conducted; hearsay allegation rejected. • Admissibility – Exhaustion of domestic remedies satisfied where appellant litigated to highest national courts. • Jurisdiction – African Court competent to examine Charter-based claims despite national courts’ final decisions.
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13 June 2023 |
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Statutory blanket denial of bail violates non-discrimination, presumption of innocence and State obligation to implement Charter rights.
- Human rights — bail law — blanket statutory denial of bail for specified offences — discrimination and denial of judicial discretion assessed under Articles 2, 7 and 1 of the African Charter.
- Admissibility — exhaustion of domestic remedies, reasonable time, res judicata, NGO standing as Commission observers.
- Remedies — legislative/constitutional amendment, publication, reporting; no blanket release ordered.
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13 June 2023 |
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13 June 2023 |
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The Court found no Charter violation in admission of confession, delay or counsel issues, and declared the application admissible.
Criminal procedure – fair trial – voluntariness and admissibility of extrajudicial confessions; exhaustion of domestic remedies; reasonable time for filing before regional court; right to defence; mandatory death penalty incompatible with Charter.
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13 June 2023 |
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Failure to provide free legal assistance to an indigent defendant in serious criminal proceedings violated fair trial rights.
Criminal procedure – right to free legal assistance – accused indigent and facing severe penalty – State’s obligation to inform and provide counsel at trial and on appeal; Admissibility – exhaustion of domestic remedies and reasonable time; Equality and dignity claims dismissed for lack of proof.
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13 June 2023 |
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Court finds no violation of Article 3 arising from domestic courts’ evidence assessment or sentence substitution.
Criminal procedure – admissibility and timeliness of communications to the African Court – competence of the Court to review conformity of domestic criminal proceedings with African Charter standards – evaluation of identification evidence and burden of proof – substitution of sentence by appellate court and availability of remedies – Article 3 (equality before the law, equal protection).
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13 June 2023 |
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13 June 2023 |
| May 2023 |
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Court orders joinder of two applications against the same State raising similar Charter violations for judicial efficiency.
Procedure – Joinder of cases – Rule 62 of the Court’s Rules – Discretion to join non-identical proceedings – Same respondent, similar allegations under Articles 2, 3 and 7 of the African Charter – Good administration of justice and judicial economy.
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22 May 2023 |
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The Court ordered joinder of two applications against Tanzania alleging violations of Articles 2, 3 and 7 of the African Charter.
Court procedure – Joinder of proceedings under rule 62 – Discretionary power to join or sever cases – Criteria: same respondent, substantially similar legal issues and relief – Purpose: good administration of justice and judicial economy; recusal noted.
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21 May 2023 |
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Court ordered joinder of two co-accused applicants' fair-trial applications against the same State for efficiency and justice.
* Joinder of proceedings – Rule 62 – Court’s discretion to join or disjoin instances for good administration of justice and economy of resources
* Co-accused applicants – same cause of action – identical grievances concerning fair-trial rights (Article 7 Charter)
* Joinder of procedural documents – consolidation of records and case title
* Recusal – judge with nationality of respondent State recused
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21 May 2023 |
| March 2023 |
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A person who granted a mandat ad litem to the applicant is not a third party and cannot intervene under Rule 61.
* Human rights procedure – Intervention – Rule 61 – Scope and admissibility of intervention by third parties; mandat ad litem precluding third‑party status; intervention superfluous where interests already represented.
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30 March 2023 |
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Applicants failed to show urgency or irreparable harm; provisional measures suspending the decree‑law and postponing elections were rejected.
• Human rights – provisional measures – Article 27(2) Protocol – requirement of extreme gravity or urgency and risk of irreparable harm – evidentiary threshold.• Competence prima facie – State ratification and Article 34(6) declaration.• Mootness – requests for provisional relief filed after the event may become without object.
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17 March 2023 |