Wakilii

Fory and Others v Republic of Cote D'Ivoire (Application No. 034-2017)

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2021] AfCHPR 14 · 2021 Objection Upheld — Title Amended AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Interlocutory ruling on change of title following objection to standing of family members named as co-applicants
Decision
Application title amended to reflect sole applicant; family members removed as co-applicants

Observed later treatment

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Holding

The Court held that only Kouadio Kobena Fory has standing as applicant. His wife and children, being indirect or vicarious victims of the alleged violations arising from his detention, are not considered applicants. The Court ordered the application title amended to remove the family members as named applicants.

Outcome

Application title amended to reflect sole applicant; family members removed as co-applicants

Facts

The applicant alleged that in 1995 he was arrested, convicted and sentenced to ten years imprisonment for embezzlement of public funds. One week after his release in 2005, he was re-arrested and held without trial until 2011. He filed an application with the African Court on 8 November 2017, naming himself, his wife Jeanne Yavo, and his three children as applicants, alleging violations of rights to fair trial, physical and moral integrity, freedom of opinion, property, work, adequate remuneration, and family protection. The respondent state objected that the family members lacked standing as applicants since they were of legal age and could bring their own applications.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant's wife and children have standing as co-applicants in the human rights application.
  2. Whether family members who are indirect or vicarious victims of alleged human rights violations can be named as applicants.

Orders

  • Finds that Kouadio Kobena Fory is the sole Applicant in the instant case.
  • Orders that the title of the Application 'N°034/2017: Kouadio Kobena Fory, spouse, son and daughters v. Republic of Côte d'Ivoire' shall be amended to read as follows: 'N°034/2017: Kouadio Kobena Fory v. Republic of Côte d'Ivoire'.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Standing — Indirect or Vicarious Victims
Family members who are indirect or vicarious victims of alleged human rights violations arising from the detention of a direct victim are not considered as applicants in their own right but may be represented by the direct victim applicant.
Civil Procedure — Standing — Applicant and Victim Need Not Be Same Person
Neither the African Charter, the Protocol, nor the Rules require that the applicant and the victim be the same person, and any person with capacity to sue may do so on their own behalf or on behalf of others with their consent or authorization.

Cases cited (3)

  • Suy Bi Gohore Émile and Others v Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (Application No. 044/2019)
  • Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza v Republic of Rwanda (Jurisdiction)
  • Sébastien Germain Ajavon v Republic of Benin (Application No. 062/2019)

Full judgment

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

Fory and Others v Republic of Cote D'Ivoire (Application No. 034-2017) [2021] AfCHPR 14 (25 November 2021)
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.