[2015] ACHPR 5

[2015] ACHPR 5

The Commission found that the complainants did not exhaust all available and effective local remedies as required by Article 56(5) of the African Charter. Although the complainants pursued administrative and judicial remedies up to the Cassation Bench of the Federal Supreme Court, they did not initiate a constitutional review before the House of Federation and Council of Constitutional Inquiry, which is the exclusive and competent forum for constitutional challenges in Ethiopia. The Commission determined that constitutional review is a legal, binding, and effective remedy for the type of rights violations alleged, as demonstrated by the Melaku Fenta case. The complainants' arguments that...

Citation
[2015] ACHPR 5
Parties
Applicant: Human Rights Council (HRCO); Respondent: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Court
African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Judgment Date
8 August 2015
Case Number
Communication 445/13
Procedural Posture
Communication / Admissibility Ruling
Outcome
communication declared inadmissible for failure to exhaust local remedies
Legal Topics
Exhaustion of Local Remedies, Freedom of Association, Right to Property, Judicial Review, Admissibility Requirements, Human Rights Organisations
Source Language
English
Administrative Law Constitutional Law Exhaustion of Local Remedies Freedom of Association Right to Property Judicial Review Admissibility Requirements Human Rights Organisations

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Parties

Human Rights Council (HRCO)

Applicant

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Communication / Admissibility Ruling

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the complainants exhausted all available and effective local remedies as required under Article 56(5) of the African Charter.
  2. 2 Whether a constitutional review before the House of Federation and Council of Constitutional Inquiry constitutes an effective remedy that must be exhausted.
  3. 3 Whether the complaint is admissible before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Ratio Decidendi

The Commission found that the complainants did not exhaust all available and effective local remedies as required by Article 56(5) of the African Charter. Although the complainants pursued administrative and judicial remedies up to the Cassation Bench of the Federal Supreme Court, they did not initiate a constitutional review before the House of Federation and Council of Constitutional Inquiry, which is the exclusive and competent forum for constitutional challenges in Ethiopia. The Commission determined that constitutional review is a legal, binding, and effective remedy for the type of rights violations alleged, as demonstrated by the Melaku Fenta case. The complainants' arguments that...

Court Disposition

communication declared inadmissible for failure to exhaust local remedies

Orders

  • The communication is declared inadmissible under Article 56(5) of the African Charter for failure to exhaust the relevant local remedy.