Wakilii

Ajavon v Republic of Benin (Application No. 013-2017)

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2018] AfCHPR 17 · 2018 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for human rights violations before the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights with subsequent request to reopen proceedings following new developments
Decision
Proceedings reopened to admit new evidence and allow further submissions

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights held that it has inherent power to set aside deliberation and reopen pleadings where developments occurring after deliberation commenced are linked to and represent continuity with the original facts alleged. The Court unanimously ordered reopening of proceedings to admit new evidence concerning the establishment of a special court and subsequent conviction of the applicant.

Outcome

Proceedings reopened to admit new evidence and allow further submissions

Facts

The applicant, a Benin national and businessman, filed an application alleging human rights violations arising from drug trafficking proceedings initiated against him in October 2016. He was acquitted by a Cotonou court in November 2016. After the matter was placed under deliberation before the African Court, the applicant reported that in July 2018 the Respondent State established a special court (CRIET) which retried him for the same drug trafficking case and sentenced him to twenty years imprisonment. The applicant submitted new allegations and evidence to the Court, including the CRIET judgment, and requested a stay of execution. The Respondent State filed observations on the admissibility of the new allegations.

Issues

  1. Whether the Court should set aside deliberation and reopen written pleadings to admit new evidence filed after the matter was placed under deliberation.

Orders

  • Deliberation on Application No. 013/2017 set aside.
  • Written pleadings reopened.
  • New evidence filed by the parties after the matter was placed under deliberation admitted.
  • Applicant allowed thirty (30) days from the date of notification of this Order to submit his Reply to the Respondent State's Response on all aspects of the case.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Inherent Powers of Court — Reopening of Proceedings After Deliberation
A court has inherent power to set aside deliberation, reopen pleadings, and admit new evidence filed after a matter has been placed under deliberation where such developments are linked to the original facts and represent continuity with the matters in question, in the interest of proper administration of justice.

Legislation cited (2)

  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 34(6)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Ajavon v Republic of Benin (Application No. 013-2017) [2018] AfCHPR 17 (5 December 2018)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.