Wakilii

Mallya v United Republic of Tanzania

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2020] AfCHPR 23 · 2020 Application Struck Out AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights following conviction and alleged denial of appeal rights; matter struck out after applicant lost interest and respondent state quashed conviction
Decision
Application struck out after applicant lost interest and respondent state quashed conviction and released applicant from prison

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 struck out the application after the applicant's representative informed the Court that the applicant could not be located and had lost interest in pursuing the matter. The Court noted that the respondent state had already quashed the applicant's conviction, set aside the sentence, and released him from prison, demonstrating commitment to redress violations through its domestic system. The Court held it was not necessary to seek the respondent state's consent to discontinuance and struck the matter from its cause list pursuant to Rule 58 of the Rules of Court.

Outcome

Application struck out after applicant lost interest and respondent state quashed conviction and released applicant from prison

Facts

The applicant was convicted of rape of a seven-year-old girl by the District Court of Moshi, Tanzania on 16 May 2000 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He appealed to the High Court but was not provided with certified true copies of the record of proceedings and judgment despite multiple requests. He filed a constitutional petition and an application before the African Court. After the African Court application was filed, the respondent state provided the documents in February 2016. On 9 February 2016, the High Court called for the records of its own motion, and on 22 February 2016 heard the appeal, quashed the conviction, set aside the sentence, and ordered the applicant's release. The applicant was released in May 2016 after serving fifteen years and nine months. The African Court rendered judgment on the merits on 26 September 2019 finding violations and reserving reparations. The applicant's representative subsequently informed the Court in July 2019 that the applicant could not be located and had lost interest in pursuing the matter.

Issues

  1. Whether the application should be struck out where the applicant has lost interest in pursuing the matter and the respondent state has already quashed the conviction and released the applicant.

Orders

  • Application No. 018/2015 Benedicto Daniel Mallya v. United Republic of Tanzania struck out from the Cause List of the Court.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Striking Out — Discontinuance by Applicant — Rule 58 of Rules of Court
Where an applicant notifies the court of intention not to proceed with a case and the respondent state has already taken measures to redress the violations complained of through its domestic system, the court may strike out the application without seeking the respondent state's consent to discontinuance.
Human Rights — African Court Jurisdiction — Withdrawal of Declaration under Article 34(6) — Effect on Pending Matters
The withdrawal of a state's declaration accepting the jurisdiction of the African Court to receive applications from individuals does not affect matters pending before the Court at the time of withdrawal.

Legislation cited (8)

  • 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 34(6)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 7
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 7(1)(a)
  • Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania Article 13(6)(a)
  • Rules of Court Rule 8(2)
  • Rules of Court Rule 35
  • Rules of Court Rule 58

Cases cited (1)

  • Andrew Ambrose Cheusi v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 004/2015)

Full judgment

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

Mallya v United Republic of Tanzania [2020] AfCHPR 23 (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.