Wakilii

Beneficiaries of the late Norbert - Zongo Abdoulaye Nikiema alias Ablasse, Ernest Zongo and Blaise IIboudo v Burkina Faso (Application No. 013-2011)

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2015] AfCHPR 39 · 2015 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Judgment on reparations following earlier finding of human rights violations by the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
Decision
Application granted with comprehensive reparations ordered including monetary compensation, publication of judgment, and order to reopen investigations

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 ordered Burkina Faso to pay reparations totaling over 100 million CFA francs to the families of journalist Norbert Zongo and three companions murdered in 1998, for moral prejudice suffered due to the State's failure to diligently investigate and prosecute the perpetrators. The Court held that spouses, children, and parents of deceased victims qualify as victims entitled to reparation under international human rights law, without need to prove inheritance status under domestic law. The Court awarded 25 million CFA francs per spouse, 15 million per child, and 10 million per parent, plus legal fees and expenses. The Court also ordered Burkina Faso to reopen investigations and publish the judgment as measures of satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition.

Outcome

Application granted with comprehensive reparations ordered including monetary compensation, publication of judgment, and order to reopen investigations

Facts

On 13 December 1998, investigative journalist Norbert Zongo and three companions were assassinated in Burkina Faso. The murders were allegedly connected to Zongo's investigations into political and economic scandals, notably the death of the chauffeur of the President's brother. Following police and prosecutorial investigations, one suspect was indicted in February 2001. In July 2006, the Investigating Magistrate dismissed the case for lack of evidence, a decision upheld on appeal in August 2006. The families of the victims and the Burkinabè Movement on Human and Peoples' Rights brought an application before the African Court alleging violations of the African Charter. In a judgment dated 28 March 2014, the Court found that Burkina Faso violated Article 7 of the Charter by failing to act with due diligence in apprehending, prosecuting and bringing to trial those responsible for the murders. The Court deferred its ruling on damages and ordered the parties to submit briefs on reparations.

Issues

  1. What reparations are due to the beneficiaries of victims of human rights violations for moral prejudice suffered as a result of the State's failure to act with due diligence in apprehending, prosecuting and bringing to trial those responsible for the murders?
  2. Who qualifies as a victim entitled to reparation under international human rights law?
  3. What amounts should be awarded for moral damages to different categories of victims?
  4. Should the Burkinabè Movement on Human and Peoples' Rights receive reparation for moral prejudice and reimbursement of expenses incurred in organizing demonstrations?
  5. What amounts should be awarded for lawyers' fees and expenses incurred by the applicants' representatives?
  6. What measures of satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition should be ordered?

Orders

  • Decides that only the spouse, sons and daughters, and fathers and mothers of the deceased persons are entitled to reparation for moral prejudice.
  • Orders the Respondent State to pay 25 million CFA F to each spouse, 15 million CFA F to each son and daughter, and 10 million CFA F to each father and mother.
  • Declares that marriage certificate and life certificate must be presented for spouses; birth certificate and life certificate for children; attestation of paternity or maternity and life certificate for parents.
  • Declares that the Judgment of 28 March 2014 represents a form of reparation for the moral prejudice suffered by the MBDHP and orders payment of 1 CFA F to MBDHP.
  • Dismisses the claim by MBDHP for compensation for organizing human rights demonstrations.
  • Orders the Respondent State to pay 40 million CFA F as fees owed to Applicants' Counsel.
  • Orders the Respondent State to reimburse 3,135,405.80 CFA F for out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Counsel during their stay in Arusha.
  • Orders all payments to be made within six months, failing which interest will accrue at the BCEAO rate.
  • Orders the Respondent State to publish the summary of the Judgment in French in the Official Gazette and a widely read national daily, and on a government website for one year, within six months.
  • Orders the Respondent State to reopen investigations to apprehend, prosecute and bring to justice the perpetrators of the assassination.
  • Orders the Respondent State to submit a report on compliance with all orders within six months.

Rules and key headnotes

Reparations — Obligation of State Found Guilty of International Crime — Full Reparation for Damage Caused
Under international law, a State found guilty of an international crime is required to make full reparation for the damage caused, which is the indispensable complement of a failure to apply a convention.
Reparations — Causal Link — Requirement Between Wrongful Act and Alleged Prejudice
For reparation to accrue, there must be a causal link between the wrongful act that has been established and the alleged prejudice, and only damages resulting from identified wrongful acts will be taken into consideration.
Reparations — Victims — Definition Under International Human Rights Law — Not Limited to First-Line Heirs
In international human rights law, the notion of victim must not necessarily be limited to that of the first-line heirs of a deceased person under national law, but may encompass other close relatives of the deceased who can reasonably be considered as having suffered moral prejudice as a result of the violation of human rights.
Reparations — Proof of Victim Status — Evidence Requirements — Not Bound by Domestic Law
An international human rights court is not limited by internal restrictive rules of law with regard to admissible evidence and may decide that a type of evidence required under domestic law is not necessarily required before it, as the obligation to make reparations is regulated by international law and cannot be modified by domestic law provisions.
Reparations — Moral Prejudice — Presumption of Causal Link — No Proof Required
The causal link between a wrongful act and moral prejudice suffered may result from the violation of a human right as an automatic consequence without any need to prove otherwise, and there is a presumption that violations of human rights and a situation of impunity cause grief, anguish and sadness to victims and their next of kin.
Reparations — Quantum — Determination on Basis of Equity — Full Reparation Principle
The applicable principle for quantification of reparation is that of full reparation commensurate with the prejudice suffered, with the aim to wipe out all consequences of the illegal act and re-establish the situation which would have existed if that act had not been committed, and reparations should be proportionate to the violations and should not make victims either richer or poorer.
Reparations — Costs and Expenses — Reimbursement of Lawyers' Fees — Part of Reparations Concept
Reparation paid to victims of human rights violations may include reimbursement of lawyers' fees and expenses, as costs and expenses are included in the concept of reparations because the activity deployed by victims or their representatives to obtain justice at national and international levels entails expenditure that must be compensated when the State's international responsibility is declared.

Legislation cited (6)

  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 1
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 7
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 9(2)
  • Revised Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Article 66(2)(c)
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 27(1)
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 27(2)

Cases cited (10)

  • The Factory at Chorzow, (Jurisdiction) Judgment of 26 July 1927, Series A, No 9 (1927), p. 21
  • The Factory at Chorzow (Merits), Judgment of 13 September 1928, Series A, No. 17, p. 47
  • Ticona Estrada and Others v Bolivia (Merits, Reparations and Costs), Judgment of 27 November 2008
  • Cantoral Benavides v Peru (Reparations and Costs), Judgment of 3 December 2001
  • Kepra Urra Guhdi v Spain, Decision of 17 May 2005, Communication No 212/2002
  • Castillo Paez v Peru (Reparations and Costs), Judgement of 27 November 1998
  • Caracazo v Venezuela (Reparations and Costs), Judgment of 29 August 2002
  • Loayza Tomayo v Peru (Reparations and Costs) Judgment of 27 November 1998
  • Myrna Mack v Guatemala (Merits, Reparations and Costs), Judgement of 25 November 2003
  • Rev. Mtikila v United Republic of Tanzania, Judgment of 13 June 2014

Full judgment

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

Beneficiaries of the late Norbert - Zongo Abdoulaye Nikiema alias Ablasse, Ernest Zongo and Blaise IIboudo v Burkina Faso (Application No. 013-2011) [2015] AfCHPR 39 (5 June 2015)
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.