Wakilii

Gbagbo v Republic of Cote D'Ivoire

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2020] AfCHPR 21 · 2020 Application Granted 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 removal from voters' register and criminal conviction
Decision
Provisional measures granted ordering the Respondent State to stay inclusion of criminal conviction in the Applicant's record and remove obstacles to voter registration pending determination of the main application 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 held that it has prima facie jurisdiction despite Cote d'Ivoire's withdrawal of its Declaration, as withdrawal has no retroactive effect on pending cases. The Court found extreme gravity and urgency warranting provisional measures to prevent irreparable harm to the Applicant's electoral and civil rights before the October 2020 elections. The Court ordered Cote d'Ivoire to stay inclusion of the criminal conviction in the Applicant's record and remove obstacles preventing his enrollment in the voters' register.

Outcome

Provisional measures granted ordering the Respondent State to stay inclusion of criminal conviction in the Applicant's record and remove obstacles to voter registration pending determination of the main application on the merits

Facts

Laurent Gbagbo, former President of Cote d'Ivoire, was removed from the voters' register on 4 August 2020. He had been enrolled in the revised 2018 register. On 5 August 2020, he applied to the Independent Electoral Commission for re-enrollment, but the IEC dismissed his request on 18 August 2020. The IEC based its decision on a criminal conviction by default judgment rendered on 29 October 2019 by the Abidjan Criminal Court, sentencing Gbagbo to twenty years imprisonment and a fine for aiding and abetting armed robbery and embezzlement of public funds. The Abidjan Court of First Instance upheld the IEC decision on 25 August 2020, ruling that Gbagbo was incapacitated and unworthy under Article 4 of Ordinance No. 2020-356 of 8 April 2020. Gbagbo had been extradited to the International Criminal Court in 2011 to face charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes during the 2010 post-election crisis. The domestic criminal proceedings concerned alleged armed robbery at the Central Bank of West African States during an economic blockade. General elections were scheduled for 31 October 2020.

Issues

  1. Whether the Court has prima facie jurisdiction to hear the application despite the Respondent State's withdrawal of its Declaration under Article 34(6) of the Protocol.
  2. Whether the circumstances meet the requirements of extreme gravity and urgency to warrant provisional measures under Article 27(2) of the Protocol.
  3. Whether the removal of the Applicant from the voters' register and the criminal conviction pose a risk of irreparable harm requiring provisional measures.

Orders

  • Stay inclusion of the Applicant's criminal conviction and sentence in the criminal record until the Court decides on the merits of the main Application.
  • Take all necessary steps to immediately remove all obstacles preventing the Applicant from enrolling in the voters' register.
  • Report to the Court within fifteen (15) days from the date of notification of this Ruling on the implementation of the provisional measures ordered.

Rules and key headnotes

Human Rights — Provisional Measures — Jurisdiction — Effect of Withdrawal of Declaration
The withdrawal of a Declaration under Article 34(6) of the Protocol to the African Charter has no retroactive effect and does not affect the Court's jurisdiction over cases pending before the Court prior to deposit of the instrument of withdrawal.
Human Rights — Provisional Measures — Prima Facie Jurisdiction — Standard of Review
In applications for provisional measures, the Court does not have to ensure that it has jurisdiction over the merits of the case, but simply that it has prima facie jurisdiction.
Human Rights — Provisional Measures — Requirements — Extreme Gravity and Urgency
Extreme gravity presupposes that there is a real and imminent risk that irreparable damage will be caused before the Court renders its final decision. There is urgency whenever acts likely to cause irreparable harm may occur at any time before the Court makes a final decision in the case at hand.
Electoral Law — Voters' Register — Removal Based on Criminal Conviction — Provisional Measures
Where a decision of an Electoral Commission upheld by a court of last resort removes an applicant from the voters' register on the basis of a criminal conviction, and elections are imminent, the circumstances require adoption of provisional measures to avoid irreparable harm to the applicant's right to enroll in the voters' register.
Human Rights — Civil and Political Rights — Criminal Conviction — Impact on Electoral Rights
Where criminal convictions have a definite impact on essential civil and political human rights, it is necessary to order measures to preserve those rights by expunging the criminal record of irrevocable criminal conviction in order to avoid irreparable harm to the applicant.

Legislation cited (18)

  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 22
  • 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)
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 3(1)
  • 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)
  • Rules of Court Rule 8(2)
  • Rules of Court Rule 39(1)
  • Rules of Court Rule 51(1)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 3
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 7
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 13(1)(2)
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 14(1)(2)
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 25(a)(b)(c)
  • African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance Article 2(3)
  • African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance Article 3(7)
  • ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance Article 1
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 11
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 21
  • Ordinance No. 2020-356 of 8 April 2020 Article 4

Cases cited (8)

  • Komi Koutche v Republic of Benin (Application No. 020/2019)
  • Amini Juma v United Republic of Tanzania (provisional measures)
  • African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights v Libya (provisional measures)
  • Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza v Rwanda (juridiction)
  • Suy Bi Gohore Emile and others v Republic of Cote d'Ivoire (Application No. 044/2019)
  • XYZ v Republic of Benin (Application No. 057/2019)
  • Sebastien Germain Ajavon v Republic of Benin (provisional measures)
  • Houngue Eric Noudehouenou v Republic of Benin (Application No. 003/2020)

Full judgment

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

Gbagbo v Republic of Cote D'Ivoire [2020] AfCHPR 21 (25 September 2020)
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.