Tema-Ghana, Nov. 9, MNN – Lady Justice Imani Daud Aboud, President of the African Court on Human and People’s Rights has expressed concern about the low ratification of the Protocol establishing the African Court.
“Only 33 Member States have currently ratified the Protocol establishing the African Court. Out of these, only eight States have accepted the competence of the Court according to its Article 34 (6), according to which individuals and NGOs can directly file cases to the African Court.
“In the absence of such a Declaration, the application must be submitted to the Banjul Commission first, which may then – after preliminary examination – decide to refer the case to the Court,” Lady Justice Aboud stated to open the 66 ordinary sessions of the African Court in Arusha, Tanzania.
The gallant eight nations who have ratified the Protocol and Deposited the Declaration are Ghana, Burkina Faso, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Malawi, and Niger.
The African Court President also noted that the “African Court still faces its traditional challenges of low ratification, few deposits of the declaration, and non-compliance with our decisions, which I consider to be extraneous to us”.
Lady Justice Aboud said in the current session is scheduled to deliver eleven decisions, stressing the need to utilize all the mechanisms at its disposal, and in accordance with the Protocol and Rules of Court, to ensure that it delivers justice as effectively and expeditiously as possible.
Other Judicial Matters which will be dealt with during the session include a roadmap on Complementarity between the African Court and the African Commission, a meeting of the Committee on a Review of the Rules to Consider Draft Revised Practice Directions, and a Draft Revised Internal Judicial Practice, Report on Compliance with decisions of the Court.
The agenda for this session also includes a Comparative Study on the Number of Cases that can be Joined for purposes of rendering a Joined Judgment and the proposed way forward on Rendering a Joined Judgment in some Applications Filed against Cote d’Ivoire.
There are also non-judicial (administrative) matters earmarked for this session, includes; health talk, consideration of the proposals on reform of the court, draft Annual Work Plan of the Court 2023, report of the court’s visit to the European Court of Human Rights, the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, proposal for the African Court to join the European Court of Human Right’s Superior Courts Network as an observer, briefing on Sensitisation mission/visit to Ethiopia and developments on the construction of the permanent premises of the Court.
“We have also dedicated days of the session to finalize the Oral Interviews to fill the regular post of Portuguese Interpreter/Translator, Grade P4, and fixed term post of Senior Legal Officer- Compliance Grade P3. Also, some Committees will have the opportunity to meet,” Lady Justice Aboud stated.
