Wakilii

Noudehouenou v Republic of Benin (Application No. 010-2021)

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2022] AfCHPR 56 · 2022 Application Dismissed 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
Decision
All requests for provisional measures dismissed or declared moot

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights held that it has prima facie jurisdiction to hear the application for provisional measures. The Court found that requests relating to the 2021 presidential election in Benin were moot as the election had already taken place. The Court dismissed requests for measures against the Executive Council as it is not a party to the proceedings. The request for suspension of a detention warrant was rejected as the subject had been convicted and sentenced, rendering the warrant's effects ended. Requests for the Court to rule on the composition of the Executive Council or to authorize amendment of respondent identities were dismissed as beyond the scope of provisional measures.

Outcome

All requests for provisional measures dismissed or declared moot

Facts

The Applicant, a Beninese politician, filed an application for provisional measures against the Republic of Benin and seven other African Union member states. He alleged that Benin had violated multiple human rights in previous cases decided by the African Court, and that the other respondent states, as members of the Executive Council, failed to ensure enforcement of those judgments. The Applicant sought measures to prevent irreparable harm from the holding of the 2021 presidential election in Benin in alleged violation of the Court's prior decisions, suspension of a detention warrant issued against Reckya Madougou who was arrested while protesting the election, and measures relating to the right to an effective remedy. The application was filed on 25 March 2021. By the time the Court heard the matter, the 2021 presidential election had already taken place on 11 April 2021, and Madougou had been tried and sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment on 11 December 2021.

Issues

  1. Whether the Court has prima facie jurisdiction to hear the application for provisional measures against the Respondent States.
  2. Whether the Court can order provisional measures against the Executive Council of the African Union, which is not a party to the proceedings.
  3. Whether the request for provisional measures relating to the 2021 presidential election in Benin has become moot.
  4. Whether the request for suspension of the detention warrant against Reckya Madougou is justified where she has been convicted and sentenced.
  5. Whether the Court can rule on the composition of the Executive Council or authorize amendment of the identities of Respondent States under provisional measures.

Orders

  • Finds that the requests relating to the 2021 presidential elections are moot.
  • Dismisses all other requests for provisional measures.

Rules and key headnotes

Provisional Measures — Prima Facie Jurisdiction — Withdrawal of Declaration under Article 34(6)
Where a State Party has withdrawn its declaration accepting individual access under Article 34(6) of the Protocol to the African Charter, the withdrawal has no bearing on pending cases at the time of deposit or on cases instituted before the withdrawal takes effect one year after deposit.
Provisional Measures — Requirements — Urgency and Irreparable Harm
Under Article 27(2) of the Protocol, provisional measures may be granted only in cases of extreme gravity and urgency and when necessary to avoid irreparable harm to persons. These two conditions are cumulative, and if one is not met, the measure cannot be ordered.
Provisional Measures — Mootness — Supervening Events
Where the event that forms the basis of a request for provisional measures has already occurred before the Court rules on the request, the request becomes moot and the Court need not examine whether the requirements for provisional measures are satisfied.
Provisional Measures — Parties — Standing of Non-State Entities
The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights can only order provisional measures against parties to a proceeding. It cannot order measures against organs of the African Union, such as the Executive Council, which are neither parties to the proceedings nor State Parties to the Protocol.
Provisional Measures — Scope — Procedural Amendments
It is not within the Court's power under provisional measures to rule on the procedural position of parties by amending or clarifying the identity of respondent states, or to pronounce on the composition of organs of the African Union whose composition and powers are laid down in the Constitutive Act.

Legislation cited (49)

  • 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 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 29(2)
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 30
  • 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 1
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 2
  • 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 5
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 7(1)(c)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 7(1)(d)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 9(1)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 9(2)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 10
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 13
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 14
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 15
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 16(2)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 20(1)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 21
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 23(1)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 26
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 2(3)
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 2(3)(c)
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 5
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 9(1)
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 15
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 17
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 19
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 25
  • International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Article 11
  • International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Article 15(1)
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 7
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 8
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 11
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 17
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 23
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 30
  • African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance Article 2(3)
  • African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance Article 2(4)
  • African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance Article 4(1)
  • Constitutive Act of the African Union Article 3(b)(e)(h)
  • Constitutive Act of the African Union Article 4(g)(m)
  • UN Charter Article 1
  • Rules of Procedure of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Rule 9(2)
  • Rules of Procedure of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Rule 49(1)
  • Rules of Procedure of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Rule 51

Cases cited (9)

  • Houngue Éric Noudehouenou v Republic of Benin (Application No. 003/2020)
  • Suy Bi Gohore Émile and Others v Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (Application No. 044/2019)
  • Sébastien Ajavon v Republic of Benin (Application No. 013/2017)
  • XYZ v Republic of Benin (Application No. 059/2020)
  • XYZ v Republic of Benin (Application No. 010/2020)
  • Sébastien Germain Marie Aïkoué Ajavon v Republic of Benin (Application No. 062/2020)
  • Ghati Mwita v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 012/2019)
  • Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza v Republic of Rwanda
  • Sébastien Ajavon v Republic of Benin (Application No. 062/2019)

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Noudehouenou v Republic of Benin (Application No. 010-2021) [2022] AfCHPR 56 (21 December 2022)
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.