Wakilii

Mtingwi v Malawi (Application No. 001-2013)

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2013] AfCHPR 3 · 2013 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights following adverse ruling by the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal
Decision
Application struck out for want of jurisdiction

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 has no appellate jurisdiction to receive and consider appeals from decisions already decided by domestic courts. The Court's jurisdiction under Article 3 of the Protocol extends only to cases concerning interpretation and application of the African Charter and relevant human rights instruments, not appeals from national supreme courts.

Outcome

Application struck out for want of jurisdiction

Facts

Ernest Francis Mtingwi was employed by the Malawi Revenue Authority on a four-year contract from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2006. On 4 November 2004, the MRA Board of Directors held an extraordinary meeting and resolved to terminate his contract immediately. Mtingwi sued for wrongful dismissal in the High Court of Malawi, which declared the dismissal unlawful and awarded three months' salary and benefits. Mtingwi subsequently applied to correct alleged accidental omissions in the damages assessment. The Assistant Registrar dismissed the application, but Justice Kamwambe on appeal found there were accidental omissions. The MRA appealed to the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, which on 28 May 2010 allowed the appeal and dismissed Justice Kamwambe's judgment. Mtingwi then applied to the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights seeking reversal of the Supreme Court decision and additional terminal benefits.

Issues

  1. Whether the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights has jurisdiction to hear an appeal from a decision of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal.

Orders

  • Application struck out for want of jurisdiction.

Rules and key headnotes

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights — Jurisdiction — Appellate Jurisdiction
The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights does not have appellate jurisdiction to receive and consider appeals in respect of cases already decided upon by domestic courts.
African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights — Jurisdiction — Scope under Article 3 of the Protocol
Under Article 3(1) of the Protocol to the African Charter, the jurisdiction of the African Court extends only to cases and disputes concerning the interpretation and application of the African Charter, the Protocol, and other relevant human rights instruments ratified by the States concerned, and does not include appeals from national supreme courts.

Cases cited (1)

  • Ernest F. Mtingwi v Malawi Revenue Authority (Civil Cause No. 3389 of 2004)

Full judgment

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

Mtingwi v Malawi (Application No. 001-2013) [2013] AfCHPR 3 (15 March 2013)
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.