Wakilii

Mornah v Republic of Benin and Others

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2020] AfCHPR 42 · 2020 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for leave to intervene in ongoing proceedings before the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
Decision
Republic of Mauritius permitted to intervene as a non-party with leave to submit written observations on the right to self-determination and decolonisation

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 granted the Republic of Mauritius leave to intervene in proceedings concerning alleged violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The Court held that Mauritius, as an AU Member State whose decolonisation is incomplete, has a legal interest in making submissions on the right to self-determination and decolonisation, given the erga omnes character of that right and the relevance of the issues to the African continent's colonial past.

Outcome

Republic of Mauritius permitted to intervene as a non-party with leave to submit written observations on the right to self-determination and decolonisation

Facts

On 14 November 2019, Bernard Anbataayela Mornah, a Ghanaian national and political party chairman, filed an application against eight African states alleging that they violated the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) by failing to protect it from continued occupation by the Kingdom of Morocco. The application alleged violations of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, and international human rights covenants. On 31 August 2020, the Republic of Mauritius filed a request for leave to intervene, asserting that as an AU Member State whose decolonisation is incomplete, it has an interest in the case given the erga omnes character of the right to self-determination. The Court noted that all respondent states are parties to the African Charter and the Protocol establishing the Court, and have made declarations permitting individual access under Article 34(6).

Issues

  1. Whether the Republic of Mauritius has an interest in the main application sufficient to justify intervention under Article 5(2) of the Protocol and Rule 53 of the Rules of Court.
  2. Whether the Court has prima facie jurisdiction to examine the main application filed by Bernard Anbataayela Mornah.
  3. Whether the right to self-determination and decolonisation raised in the main application affects the legal interests of the Republic of Mauritius as an AU Member State whose decolonisation process is incomplete.

Orders

  • Leave granted for the Republic of Mauritius to intervene in the instant Application.
  • Submissions of the Republic of Mauritius on the merits of the main Application deemed to have been filed.

Rules and key headnotes

Human Rights — Third Party Intervention — Legal Interest — Article 5(2) of Protocol
A State Party may intervene in proceedings before the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights where it demonstrates a legal interest that may be affected by the decision, assessed by reference to the nature of issues involved, the identity of the intervenor, and the potential impact of the Court's decision on the intervenor and third parties.
Human Rights — Right to Self-Determination — Erga Omnes Character — Decolonisation
The right to self-determination and freedom from colonisation has an erga omnes character and particular relevance to the African continent due to its colonial past, such that a Member State whose decolonisation is incomplete has a legal interest in proceedings concerning the territorial integrity and sovereignty of another territory subject to ongoing occupation.
Constitutional Law — African Union — Member State Obligations — Territorial Integrity
Where an application raises issues concerning decisions of the African Union to readmit a state despite its continued occupation of another Member State's territory, other AU Member States have a cognisable interest in intervening to address questions of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the right to self-determination.
Human Rights — Jurisdiction — Prima Facie Assessment — Individual Access
The African Court has prima facie jurisdiction to examine an application where the applicant alleges violations of rights protected by the African Charter and the application is filed against respondent states that have ratified the Protocol and deposited declarations under Article 34(6) permitting individual and NGO access.

Legislation cited (25)

  • 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 5(2)
  • 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)
  • Rules of Court Rule 8(2)
  • Rules of Court Rule 33(2)
  • Rules of Court Rule 39(1)
  • Rules of Court Rule 50
  • Rules of Court Rule 53
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 1
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 3
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 4
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 13
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 19
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 20
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 21
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 22
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 23
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 24
  • Constitutive Act of the African Union Article 3
  • Constitutive Act of the African Union Article 4
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 1
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 2
  • International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Article 1
  • International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Article 2

Cases cited (13)

  • Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v Italy) (Greece Intervening) (ICJ Order of 4 July 2011)
  • Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 (ICJ Advisory Opinion of 25 February 2019)
  • Continental Shelf (Libya v Tunisia) (ICJ 1981)
  • Land and Maritime Boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria (Cameroon v Nigeria) (Equatorial Guinea Intervening) (ICJ Order of 21 October 1999)
  • Haya de la Torre (Colombia v Peru) (ICJ Judgment of 13 June 1951)
  • Continental Shelf (Libya v Malta) (Italy Intervening) (ICJ Judgment of 21 March 1984)
  • Mavrommatis Palestine Concessions (Greece v United Kingdom) (PCIJ Judgment of 30 August 1924)
  • Sebastien Germain Ajavon (AfCHPR Order of 7 December 2018)
  • Guillaume Kigbafori Soro v Cote d'Ivoire (AfCHPR Order of 15 September 2020)
  • B.G. and Others v France (ECHR Judgment of 10 September 2020)
  • Western Sahara (ICJ Advisory Opinion of 16 October 1975)
  • Armand Guehi v Tanzania (Cote d'Ivoire Intervening) (AfCHPR Judgment of 7 December 2018)
  • Land, Island and Maritime Frontier Dispute (El Salvador v Honduras) (Nicaragua Intervening) (ICJ Judgment of 13 December 1990)

Full judgment

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Mornah v Republic of Benin and Others [2020] AfCHPR 42 (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.