Wakilii

Noudehouenou v Republic of Benin (Application No. 003-2020)

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2020] AfCHPR 31 · 2020 Application Partly Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Second application for provisional measures in ongoing proceedings concerning alleged violations of political participation rights
Decision
Provisional measures partly granted; Respondent State ordered to remove obstacles to Applicant's presidential candidacy

Observed later treatment

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Holding

The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights ordered the Republic of Benin to remove all administrative, judicial and political obstacles to the Applicant's candidacy in the 2021 presidential election, finding urgency and risk of irreparable harm. The Court dismissed requests for interest, guarantees of non-repetition, expedited merits examination, and anti-reprisal measures as either prejudging the merits or lacking evidence of urgency.

Outcome

Provisional measures partly granted; Respondent State ordered to remove obstacles to Applicant's presidential candidacy

Facts

The Applicant, a Beninese national, economist and tax expert, sought to participate as a candidate in Benin's 2021 presidential election. He alleged that legal requirements including political party affiliation, endorsements from a Member of Parliament and a Mayor, tax clearance and a certificate of conformity constituted obstacles to his candidacy. The Court had previously issued provisional measures on 5 May 2020 ordering Benin to remove obstacles to the Applicant's participation in communal and municipal elections. The Applicant alleged that Benin failed to comply with that order. On 25 March 2020, Benin deposited an instrument withdrawing its declaration accepting individual access to the Court, effective 26 March 2021. The deadline for submitting candidacy files for the 2021 presidential election was 21 January 2021.

Issues

  1. Whether provisional measures should be ordered to remove obstacles to the Applicant's candidacy in the 2021 presidential election.
  2. Whether the Court should order interest for non-compliance with its orders.
  3. Whether the Court should order guarantees of non-repetition including sanctions for non-compliance.
  4. Whether the Court should expedite examination of the merits.
  5. Whether the Court should order measures to prevent reprisals against the Applicant, his family and counsel.

Orders

  • The Respondent State shall take all necessary measures to effectively remove any administrative, judicial and political obstacles to the Applicant's candidacy in the forthcoming presidential election in 2021.
  • All other measures requested are dismissed.
  • The Respondent State shall report to the Court within thirty days of notification of this Ruling on the measures taken to implement the order.

Rules and key headnotes

Human Rights — Provisional Measures — Prima Facie Jurisdiction
For provisional measures, the Court need not be satisfied that it has jurisdiction on the merits of the case, but simply that it has jurisdiction prima facie.
Human Rights — Withdrawal of Declaration — Effect on Pending Cases
The withdrawal of a declaration accepting individual access to the African Court under Article 34(6) of the Protocol does not have retroactive effect and has no bearing on cases pending before the Court at the time of withdrawal.
Human Rights — Provisional Measures — Test for Grant
Provisional measures may be granted where there is extreme gravity and urgency, and when necessary to avoid irreparable harm to persons. Urgency refers to a real and imminent risk being caused before the Court renders its final decision. The risk must be real, not purely hypothetical, and the probability of irreparable damage materializing should be reasonable having regard to the context and personal situation of the applicant.
Electoral Law — Right to Stand for Election — Obstacles to Candidacy
Where legal requirements prevent a candidate from submitting candidacy documents before an imminent election deadline, there is urgency and real risk of irreparable harm justifying provisional measures to remove administrative, judicial and political obstacles to candidacy.
Human Rights — Provisional Measures — Requests that Prejudge the Merits
Requests for provisional measures that presuppose liability for alleged violations or that would require the Court to examine aspects properly belonging to the merits will be dismissed as prejudging the merits.

Cases cited (3)

  • Komi Koutche v Republic of Benin (Application No. 020/2019)
  • Noudehouenou v Republic of Benin (Application No. 003/2020)
  • Ajavon Sebastien 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.

Noudehouenou v Republic of Benin (Application No. 003-2020) [2020] AfCHPR 31 (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.