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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2024 |
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Court exercised discretion and inherent power to reopen debates and grant a 30‑day extension for the State's response.
Court procedure – reopening of debates – discretion under rule 46(3) – inherent powers under rule 90 – extension of time to file response for respondent State.
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29 November 2024 |
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Applicants failed to prove urgency, extreme gravity or irreparable harm to justify provisional measures suspending their dismissal.
Provisional measures – Article 27(2) Protocol – prima facie competence – conditions for provisional measures: extreme gravity, urgency, irreparable harm – burden of proof – assessment of medical and financial evidence – effect of pending domestic remedies.
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20 November 2024 |
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Applicant’s fair-trial claim dismissed; Court found mandatory death penalty and hanging violate rights to life and dignity.
Criminal procedure – fair trial (right to be heard) – evaluation of witness inconsistencies and appellate review; Death penalty – mandatory sentences violate Article 4 (right to life); Method of execution – hanging violates Article 5 (human dignity); Remedies – legislative reform, quashing of mandatory sentence, resentencing and supervisory reporting.
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13 November 2024 |
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Allegation that the respondent violated the applicant’s fair-trial rights in criminal proceedings.
* Droit à un procès équitable – Compétence et recevabilité – Épuisement des recours internes et délai raisonnable
* Procédure – Jugement par défaut de l’État défendeur pour défaut d’observations
* Procès équitable – droit d’être entendu, droit d’appel, présomption d’innocence, droit de la défense, notification des charges, décisions motivées
* Preuve pénale – appréciation des éléments de preuve nationaux et standard international pour constater un déni de justice
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13 November 2024 |
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Application challenging electoral-code amendments declared inadmissible for failure to exhaust domestic remedies.
* Human rights – Political participation – Alleged violation of the right to participate in elections by amendment of the electoral code; * Admissibility – Exhaustion of domestic remedies – applicants must use available, effective remedies and follow the procedure required by domestic law; * Procedure – Default judgment where State fails to file observations; * Jurisdiction – Court competent (material, personal, temporal, territorial).
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13 November 2024 |
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Challenge to patrilineal surname rule became moot after legislative reform granting parents equal surname choice.
African Court jurisdiction to review compliance with international human rights norms; admissibility—exhaustion of domestic remedies and reasonable time; equality between men and women—attribution of child’s surname; mootness of application due to subsequent legislative amendment; no reparations where claim becomes without object.
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13 November 2024 |
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Mandatory death penalty and hanging violate the rights to life and dignity; Court orders law reform and new sentencing.
* Human rights – Right to life – Mandatory death penalty removes judicial discretion and violates article 4 of the African Charter.
* Human rights – Dignity and prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment – Execution by hanging violates article 5.
* Fair trial – Assessment of evidence by domestic courts – international court will not substitute its own appreciation absent manifest error.
* Remedies – annulment of mandatory death penalty, new sentencing hearing, moral damages, publication and reporting obligations.
* Procedure – judgment rendered by default for State’s failure to file a defence.
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13 November 2024 |
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The applicant's challenge led the Court to find mandatory death‑penalty and hanging violated rights to life and dignity.
* Human rights — Criminal procedure — Mandatory death penalty — Judicial discretion — Right to life (Article 4) violated when sentence is mandatory; abolition ordered.
* Human rights — Dignity — Method of execution — Hanging deemed degrading and incompatible with Article 5.
* Admissibility — Exhaustion of domestic remedies — Appeal to Court of Appeal satisfied requirement.
* Fair trial — Review of national fact‑finding — No manifest irregularity found in admission of evidence (including DNA) or legal representation.
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13 November 2024 |
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13 November 2024 |
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Court found no Charter violations; competent and admissible, rejected claims of unfair trial, discrimination and torture.
* Human rights — Judicial review — Competence of the African Court to examine alleged Charter violations and to order remedies (including release).
* Admissibility — Exhaustion of domestic remedies and reasonable time — incarcerated, self-represented applicant.
* Fair trial — Right to have one’s cause heard (Article 7(1)) — evaluation of witness credibility and reliance on multiple corroborating testimonies.
* Non‑discrimination — Burden of proof on applicant for Article 3(2) claims.
* Prohibition of inhuman treatment — Allegations of torture at arrest require evidentiary substantiation for Article 5 breaches.
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13 November 2024 |
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La peine de mort obligatoire et la pendaison violent le droit du requérant à la vie et à la dignité.
* Compétence de la Cour – recevabilité – épuisement des recours internes et délai raisonnable. * Peine de mort obligatoire – incompatibilité avec l'article 4 (droit à la vie) de la Charte. * Mode d'exécution (pendaison) – atteinte au droit à la dignité (article 5). * Preuve et procès équitable – marge d'appréciation des juridictions nationales et charge de la preuve de l'allégation de torture.
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13 November 2024 |
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La Cour rejette l'atteinte à l'autodétermination mais constate des violations de l'indépendance judiciaire et de la séparation des pouvoirs.
* Compétence de la Cour – interprétation et application de la Charte – recevabilité des requêtes individuelles après dépôt de la déclaration au titre de l'art. 34(6).
* Recevabilité – épuisement des recours internes – indisponibilité des voies nationales pour contestation constitutionnelle.
* Droit des peuples à l'autodétermination (art. 20) – élaboration et adoption constitutionnelle par une assemblée constituante élue.
* Indépendance de la justice (art. 26) – ingérence exécutive dans la gestion de la carrière des magistrats, substitution du Conseil supérieur de la magistrature.
* Séparation des pouvoirs – atteinte à l'indépendance du pouvoir législatif par l'exercice prolongé des fonctions législatives par l'exécutif.
* Mesures réparatrices – mesures structurelles et obligations de mise en œuvre et de rapport.
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13 November 2024 |
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Court granted respondent 90 days to file an execution report, reserved costs, and adjourned the hearing sine die.
* Procedural law – Adjournment of hearings – Rule 54(6) RnInd – Inherent powers (rule 90) to manage proceedings and ensure justice. * Execution of judgments – State reporting on measures taken to implement Court orders; timetable for compliance reports. * Substantive relief – Allegations of continued expulsions of an indigenous community to be determined at a future hearing. * Costs – decision on allocation reserved.
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12 November 2024 |
| October 2024 |
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Court orders suspension of arrest warrants to allow specialised medical treatment due to urgency and irreparable health risk.
Provisional measures – prima facie competence under Article 3(1) of the Protocol; conditions for provisional measures: extreme gravity and urgency; risk of irreparable harm to health; suspension of execution of arrest warrants to permit specialised medical treatment; reporting obligation within 15 days.
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29 October 2024 |
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Court exercised its discretion to reopen proceedings and admitted a late State response in the interests of justice.
Procedure – Reopening of debates – Court’s discretion under Rule 46(3) and inherent powers under Rule 90 – Admissibility of late filings under Rule 45(1) – Interests of justice – Case involves alleged fair trial/impartiality violations and provisional measures halting execution.
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28 October 2024 |
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Court declared itself incompetent because the respondent State had not accepted individual access under Article 34(6).
* Human rights — Jurisdiction — Personal competence of the African Court — Requirement of Article 34(6) declaration for individual and NGO access; * Competence — Preliminary examination under Article 3 of the Protocol and Rule 49(1) of the Rules; * Procedural law — New application vs. matter accessory to a previously decided case; * Interim measures — Request for provisional stay in absence of Court's jurisdiction.
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16 October 2024 |
| September 2024 |
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Application declared inadmissible for failure to exhaust domestic remedies despite Court’s material competence.
• Jurisdiction – material competence under the Protocol and ratified instruments – state sovereignty cannot defeat treaty obligations; • Admissibility – exhaustion of domestic remedies and pending cassation bars admissibility; • Interim relief – provisional measures refused where application declared inadmissible and national remedies pending; • Costs – each party bears its own costs.
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3 September 2024 |
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State violated fair‑trial, consular, anti‑torture and life/dignity rights by denying consular and interpreter assistance, subjecting applicants to brutality, prolonged death‑row detention, and applying mandatory death by hanging.
Criminal procedure – fair trial rights – consular assistance – right to interpreter – effective legal assistance – unreasonable pre‑trial delay – torture and ill‑treatment – duty to investigate – death‑row phenomenon – mandatory death penalty and method of execution (hanging) – reparations and supervisory reporting.
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3 September 2024 |
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Application declared inadmissible for failure to exhaust domestic remedies due to a pending cassation appeal.
* Human rights – Admissibility – Exhaustion of domestic remedies – Pending cassation appeal – Application declared inadmissible.
* Jurisdiction – Material, personal, temporal and territorial competence affirmed.
* Procedure – Costs – Each party to bear its own costs.
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3 September 2024 |
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Failure to provide free legal assistance to an indigent defendant in a serious criminal case violated right to a fair trial.
• Jurisdiction – competence of the African Court to review alleged Charter breaches in domestic criminal proceedings; • Admissibility – exhaustion of domestic remedies and reasonable time for filing; • Fair trial – right to defence and state obligation to provide free legal assistance to indigent accused in serious cases (Article 7(1)(c) African Charter; Article 14(3)(d) ICCPR); • Standard of review – international court will not supplant domestic courts’ factual/appreciation-of‑evidence findings absent manifest error; • Reparations – rejection of unproven material loss, award of moral damages and implementation reporting.
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3 September 2024 |
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3 September 2024 |
| June 2024 |
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Request to reopen debates and for a hearing rejected for lack of sufficient connection to the original application.
Reopening of debates — Rule 46(3) — request must have sufficient link to the object of the application; previously pleaded arguments require new relevant elements to justify reopening; unrelated allegations (detention, ill-treatment, health deterioration) cannot support reopening; request for oral hearing refused as consequentially unnecessary.
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6 June 2024 |
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Mandatory death sentence and hanging violated the applicant’s rights to life and dignity; trial delay breached right to timely trial.
Human rights — Fair trial — Reasonable time to be tried — Effective assistance of counsel and witnesses — Presumption of innocence; Capital punishment — Mandatory death penalty violates right to life — Hanging violates right to dignity; Remedies — annulment of death sentence, re‑sentencing, legislative reform and reporting obligations.
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4 June 2024 |
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Applicants’ exclusion from police academy and promotion found lawful; no violation of equality, access, promotion or education rights.
Administrative law – Public service promotion and training – Application of objective statutory criteria (date of diploma, seniority, hierarchical authorization) – Non‑discrimination and equality — exhaustion of domestic remedies — jurisprudential reversal by Supreme Court permissible.
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4 June 2024 |
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4 June 2024 |
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4 June 2024 |
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Mandatory death penalty, death‑row detention and failure to notify consular rights violate life, dignity and fair‑trial protections.
Human rights — Criminal procedure — Right to be tried within a reasonable time; Right to effective defence and interpreter; Presumption of innocence; Consular notification (VCCR Art.36); Right to life — mandatory death penalty arbitrary; Dignity — hanging, prolonged death‑row detention and poor prison conditions constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; Remedies — moral damages, legislative and procedural reform, publication and reporting obligations.
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4 June 2024 |
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Mandatory death penalty and hanging violated rights to life and dignity; prolonged pre-trial detention and failure to inform of consular rights breached fair trial.
Human rights — criminal procedure — unreasonable pre-trial detention; right to defence and interpreter; consular assistance (VCCR Article 36); mandatory death penalty arbitrary; hanging and prolonged death-row detention cruel, inhuman or degrading; remedies including moral damages, resentencing, legislative reform and publication.
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4 June 2024 |
| May 2024 |
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Court reopens proceedings and grants respondent 45 days to file response, postponing the scheduled hearing.
Procedure – Reopening of written proceedings – Court’s discretionary and inherent powers to grant extensions (Rules 46(3), 90, 45(1)) – State’s failure to file response despite prior extensions – Grant of 45‑day extension and postponement of hearing – Costs of adjournment reserved.
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31 May 2024 |
| March 2024 |
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Applicant failed to prove imminent sale and irreparable harm; provisional measures to suspend execution were refused.
Human rights — Provisional measures — Conditions for ordering measures (urgency, extreme gravity, irreparable harm) — Prima facie competence — Inheritance dispute — Burden of proof for imminent sale and irreparable harm.
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18 March 2024 |
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Court refused full accelerated procedure but granted priority examination while preserving respondent’s 90‑day defence right.
Interstate application – Request for accelerated procedure – Rule 90 Rules – Right to defence and fixed 90‑day response under Rule 44(1) – Article 28/Rule 69 deliberation period – Denial of acceleration but priority examination granted.
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7 March 2024 |
| February 2024 |
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Mandatory death penalty breaches the right to life; hanging breaches human dignity; Court orders law reform and retrial.
Human rights — Criminal procedure — Fair trial (evidence, identification, autopsy, standard of proof) — Right to life — Mandatory death penalty — Right to dignity — Remedies and legislative reform — Admissibility (exhaustion of domestic remedies) — Competence of African Court to review conformity of national proceedings with Charter.
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13 February 2024 |
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Mandatory death sentences and hanging violate the right to life and human dignity; court competent and application receivable.
* Competence – Court's material, personal, temporal and territorial jurisdiction to assess compliance of domestic criminal proceedings with the African Charter.
* Receivability – Exhaustion of domestic remedies and assessment of reasonable time for filing international application.
* Fair trial – limits of international review of national courts' evidentiary assessments (article 7).
* Death penalty – mandatory death sentence breaches right to life (article 4); hanging breaches human dignity (article 5).
* Remedies – legislative repeal, retrial/re-sentencing, publication and reporting obligations.
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13 February 2024 |
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Blanket non-bailable rule and failure to provide free legal aid breached applicant's liberty and legal-assistance rights.
Criminal procedure — Fair trial — Right to legal assistance: indigent accused charged with serious offence must be provided free counsel at trial and on appeal; Bail — statutory bar removing judicial discretion for specified offences breaches right to liberty (Article 6) read with ICCPR Article 9(3); Jurisdiction and admissibility — exhaustion of local remedies and reasonableness of delay considered; Reparations — moral damages, legislative amendment, publication and reporting ordered.
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13 February 2024 |
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Mandatory death penalty breaches rights to life and dignity; Court orders compensation and legislative reform.
• Human rights – Criminal justice – Mandatory death penalty – Whether statutory mandatory imposition of death sentence violates Article 4 (right to life) and Article 5 (dignity) of the African Charter. • Fair trial – Assessment of evidence – Whether domestic courts’ evaluation constituted denial of justice under Article 7. • Remedies – Individual compensation, annulment of mandatory death provisions, resentence hearing, abolition of hanging, reporting obligations.
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13 February 2024 |
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6 February 2024 |
| January 2024 |
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Provisional stay of sentence and release refused because such measures would prejudice the merits.
Provisional measures — Article 27(2) Protocol — prima facie jurisdiction — measures must be necessary, urgent and avoid irreparable harm — measures identical to relief on the merits cannot be granted — stay of execution and provisional release dismissed.
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24 January 2024 |