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Emile and Others v Côte d'Ivoire (Application No. 044-2019)

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2019] AfCHPR 48 · 2019 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for provisional measures before the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights concerning implementation of electoral commission reform
Decision
Application for provisional measures dismissed; matter may proceed to consideration on the merits

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 rejected the application for provisional measures seeking to prevent implementation of Côte d'Ivoire's electoral commission law. The Court held that the circumstances did not reveal a situation of extreme gravity and urgency posing a risk of irreparable harm, particularly as the Electoral Commission had already been established and its members appointed and sworn in before the application was determined.

Outcome

Application for provisional measures dismissed; matter may proceed to consideration on the merits

Facts

Eight Ivorian professionals applied to the African Court seeking provisional measures to prevent implementation of Law No. 2019-708 of 5 August 2019 reforming the Independent Electoral Commission. The law was adopted by the National Assembly on 30 July 2019 and by the Senate on 2 August 2019, then promulgated on 5 August 2019. Sixty-six members of the National Assembly challenged the law before the Constitutional Council, which declared their petition inadmissible on grounds that the law had already been promulgated. By the time the application reached the African Court, the Electoral Commission had been established, its members appointed and sworn in before the Constitutional Council on 30 September 2019, and its Bureau established. The reform followed a 2016 judgment by the same Court in Application No. 001/2014 which had found the previous electoral commission composition violated international instruments and ordered Côte d'Ivoire to amend the law.

Issues

  1. Whether the Court should grant provisional measures to prevent implementation of Law No. 2019-708 of 5 August 2019 on the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral Commission.
  2. Whether the circumstances of the case meet the requirements of extreme gravity, urgency, and risk of irreparable harm to persons under Article 27(2) of the Protocol.

Orders

  • Application for provisional measures rejected.
  • Order remains provisional in nature and does not prejudge the Court's decisions on the merits of the case.

Rules and key headnotes

Human Rights — Provisional Measures — Prima Facie Jurisdiction
When considering an application for provisional measures, the Court need not satisfy itself that it has jurisdiction on the merits of the case, but simply that it has prima facie jurisdiction.
Human Rights — Provisional Measures — Requirements for Grant
The Court cannot issue an order for provisional measures except where the basic requisite conditions have been met: extreme gravity, urgency, and prevention of irreparable harm to persons.
Human Rights — Provisional Measures — Supervening Events and Mootness
Where the relief sought in an application for provisional measures has been overtaken by events, such that the law sought to be suspended has already been implemented and the institutions established and operational, the application for provisional measures becomes irrelevant and will be dismissed.
Human Rights — Provisional Measures — Effect on Merits
An order dismissing provisional measures remains provisional in nature and in no way prejudges the Court's decisions on the merits of the case.

Cases cited (3)

  • Action for the Protection of Human Rights (APDH) v Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (Application No. 001/2014)
  • African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights v Libya (Application No. 002/2013)
  • Amini Juma v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 024/2016)

Full judgment

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

Emile and Others v Côte d'Ivoire (Application No. 044-2019) [2019] AfCHPR 48 (28 November 2019)
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.