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Bakweri Land Claims Committee v Cameroon (Communication 260 of 2002)

African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2004] ACHPR 60 · 2004 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Communication to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights alleging violations of the African Charter arising from privatisation of lands traditionally owned by the Bakweri people
Decision
Communication dismissed for failure to exhaust local remedies

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The African Commission declared the communication inadmissible for failure to exhaust local remedies. The Commission held that the complainant had not approached any local or national court in Cameroon and that subjective assessments about the perceived lack of independence of domestic institutions do not absolve a complainant from pursuing domestic remedies. The Commission rejected arguments that the judiciary lacked independence and that presidential pre-emption of decision-making rendered domestic remedies futile, holding that it would set a dangerous precedent to admit a case based on apprehension about domestic institutions when local remedies remain to be approached.

Outcome

Communication dismissed for failure to exhaust local remedies

Facts

The Bakweri Land Claims Committee filed a communication on behalf of the indigenous Bakweri people of Fako division in Cameroon, alleging that Presidential Decree 94/125 of 14 July 1994 listed the Cameroon Development Corporation for privatisation, which would result in the alienation of approximately 400 square miles of lands traditionally owned by the Bakweri. The complainant alleged that the lands were seized by German colonial occupiers between 1887 and 1905, bought back by the British colonial government after WWII, declared native lands, and leased to the CDC in 1947 for 60 years to hold in trust for the Bakweri. The complainant alleged that the privatisation would extinguish Bakweri title rights in two-thirds of their total land area. The complainant petitioned successive Cameroonian governments for restitution since 1994 and met with various officials but received no resolution. The complainant did not seize any local or national court in Cameroon.

Issues

  1. Whether the complainant has locus standi to bring the communication before the African Commission.
  2. Whether the complainant has exhausted local remedies as required by article 56(5) of the African Charter.
  3. Whether the communication is inadmissible under article 56(7) because the matter has been settled by another international tribunal.
  4. Whether the communication is written in disparaging or insulting language contrary to article 56(3) of the African Charter.
  5. Whether the complainant has established a prima facie case of violations of the African Charter.

Orders

  • Communication declared inadmissible.

Rules and key headnotes

Human Rights — Admissibility — Locus Standi — African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
The locus standi requirement under article 56(1) of the African Charter is not restrictive so as to imply that only victims may seize the African Commission. The provision allows submissions not only from aggrieved individuals but also from other individuals or organisations that can author complaints and seize the Commission of a human rights violation. The existence of direct interest such as being a victim is not a requirement under the African Charter.
Human Rights — Admissibility — Exhaustion of Local Remedies — Subjective Assessments
The exhaustion of local remedies requirement under article 56(5) of the African Charter should be interpreted liberally, but a complainant's subjective assessment that it could not obtain justice from local courts does not amount to exhaustion of remedies. It is not enough for a complainant to merely doubt the ability of domestic remedies to absolve it from pursuing the same. The complainant must approach either local or national judicial bodies.
Human Rights — Admissibility — Exhaustion of Local Remedies — Perceived Lack of Judicial Independence
The African Commission will not admit a case based on a complainant's apprehension about the perceived lack of independence of a country's domestic institutions, including the judiciary, when local remedies remain to be approached. To do so would set a dangerous precedent and allow the Commission to take over the role of domestic courts by being a first instance court of convenience.
Human Rights — Admissibility — Ne Bis In Idem — Settlement by Another International Tribunal
Article 56(7) of the African Charter incorporating the principle of ne bis in idem does not apply where another international tribunal has not decided on the merits of the case. The principle is tied to the recognition of the fundamental res judicata status of judgments issued by international and regional tribunals and ensures that no state may be sued or condemned for the same alleged violation of human rights. Where a tribunal declines to entertain a matter without deciding on the merits, the matter has not been settled within the meaning of article 56(7).

Legislation cited (9)

  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights art.7(1)(a)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights art.14
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights art.21
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights art.22
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights art.56(1)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights art.56(3)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights art.56(5)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights art.56(7)
  • Cameroon Land Tenure Act 74-1 of 1974

Cases cited (8)

  • Free Legal Assistance Group and Others v Zaire (Communication of 1995)
  • Social and Economic Rights Action Centre (SERAC) and Another v Nigeria (Communication of 2001)
  • International Pen and Others v Nigeria (Communication of 1998)
  • Constitutional Rights Project v Nigeria (Communication of 1995)
  • Mpaka-Nsusu v Zaire (Communication of 1994)
  • Velasquez Rodriguez v Honduras (Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 29 July 1988)
  • Njoku v Egypt (Communication of 1997)
  • Cudjoe v Ghana (Communication of 1999)

Full judgment

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

Bakweri Land Claims Committee v Cameroon (Communication 260 of 2002) [2004] ACHPR 60 (7 December 2004)
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.