Wakilii

Ramadhani v United Republic of Tanzania

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2021] AfCHPR 34 · 2021 Application Partly Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for reparations following judgment on the merits finding violation of right to free legal assistance
Decision
Application for reparations partly granted; applicant awarded TZS 300,000 for moral prejudice; all other claims dismissed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court awarded the applicant TZS 300,000 for moral prejudice arising from the respondent state's failure to provide free legal assistance during domestic criminal proceedings. All other claims for reparations were dismissed. The Court found that material damages were not warranted because the lack of legal assistance did not affect the trial outcome, conviction, or sentencing. Claims by family members as indirect victims were rejected. The Court declined to order restitution, non-repetition guarantees, or publication of the judgment, noting that Tanzania had enacted a Legal Aid Act in 2017.

Outcome

Application for reparations partly granted; applicant awarded TZS 300,000 for moral prejudice; all other claims dismissed

Facts

The applicant was convicted and sentenced to thirty years imprisonment for robbery in domestic Tanzanian courts. In the merits judgment of 11 May 2018, the African Court found that Tanzania violated the applicant's right to free legal assistance under Article 7(1)(c) of the African Charter during the domestic criminal proceedings. However, the Court did not find that this violation affected the trial outcome, conviction, or sentencing, as the applicant had obtained legal representation before the High Court and Court of Appeal through his own means. The applicant subsequently filed submissions seeking various forms of reparation including monetary compensation for himself and family members, restitution, guarantees of non-repetition, and publication of the judgment.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant is entitled to pecuniary reparations for material loss including loss of income, disruption of life plan, and costs incurred in domestic proceedings.
  2. Whether the applicant is entitled to compensation for non-material loss (moral prejudice) arising from the failure to provide free legal assistance.
  3. Whether the applicant's family members are entitled to compensation as indirect victims for moral prejudice suffered.
  4. Whether non-pecuniary reparations including restitution, non-repetition guarantees, and publication of the judgment should be ordered.
  5. Whether the applicant is entitled to reimbursement of legal fees and other expenses incurred in proceedings before the African Court.

Orders

  • Does not grant the prayer for material damages sought on account of loss of income, life plan, and costs incurred in the proceedings before domestic courts.
  • Grants the prayer for damages in relation to the failure to be afforded free legal assistance, and awards the Applicant the sum of Tanzanian Shillings Three Hundred Thousand (TZS 300,000).
  • Orders the Respondent State to pay the amount indicated free from taxes within six (6) months, effective from the notification of this Judgment, failing which it will pay interest on arrears calculated on the basis of the applicable rate of the Central Bank of Tanzania throughout the period of delayed payment and until the accrued amount is fully paid.
  • Dismisses the prayers for restitution, non-repetition and publication.
  • Dismisses the prayers for reimbursement of legal fees.
  • Orders the Respondent State to submit to the Court, within six (6) months from the date of notification of this Judgment, a report on the measures taken to implement the orders set forth herein and thereafter, every six (6) months until the Court considers that there has been full implementation thereof.
  • Dismisses the prayer related to payment of the costs and other expenses incurred in the proceedings before this Court.
  • Orders each party to bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Reparations — Pecuniary Damages — Material Loss — Causation Requirement
For material damages to be awarded in reparations proceedings, there must be a direct causal link between the established violation and the loss alleged; material damage is not warranted where the established violation of the right to free legal assistance did not affect the trial, conviction, or sentencing of the applicant.
Reparations — Non-Material Loss — Token Compensation for Procedural Violations
Where a violation of the right to legal assistance is established but did not affect the outcome of domestic proceedings, non-material prejudice ensues which can be fairly compensated by a token amount; the Court has adopted a consistent standard of awarding TZS 300,000 in such circumstances.
Reparations — Indirect Victims — Derivative Nature of Claims
Claims for reparation by indirect victims are determined by their link to the direct victim, and the extent of moral harm that may be claimed by indirect victims cannot in principle supersede the main damage caused to the direct victim; where the only established violation is failure to provide legal assistance and indirect victims' claims are based on imprisonment rather than the violation itself, reparation is not warranted.
Reparations — Restitution — Status Quo Ante
The purpose of an order for restitution is to achieve the status quo ante, that is, to reinstate the applicant in the situation prior to the violation; where only a procedural violation is established and remedy has been afforded through compensation, and no other violation caused prejudice warranting return to the initial situation, restitution is not justified.
Reparations — Non-Repetition — Individual versus Systemic Violations
While non-repetition may apply to both systemic and individual cases, its purpose in individual instances is to prevent the violation from continuing or recurring; where a violation was completed at the time of domestic proceedings and the likelihood of continuation or repetition is non-existent in respect of the applicant, an order for non-repetition is not warranted.
Reparations — Publication of Judgment — Circumstances Warranting Publication
Orders for publication of a judgment are made on a case-by-case basis as circumstances warrant, including cases of grave or systemic violations affecting the domestic system, where the respondent state has not implemented a previous order, or where there is need to enhance public awareness; where a case does not involve a systemic violation and the judgment on the merits did not include a specific measure to be implemented, publication is not necessary.
Reparations — Legal Fees — Pro Bono Representation under Court Legal Aid Scheme
Where an applicant was represented throughout proceedings under the Court's legal aid scheme, which is pro bono in nature, claims for reimbursement of legal fees and other expenses related to proceedings before the Court are rejected.

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 27(1)
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 30
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 1
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 7(1)(b)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 7(1)(c)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 7(2)
  • Legal Aid Act 2017

Cases cited (19)

  • Amir Ramadhani v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 010/2015)
  • Norbert Zongo and Others v. Burkina Faso (reparations) (5 June 2015) 1 AfCLR 258
  • Lohé Issa Konaté v. Burkina Faso (reparations) (3 June 2016) 1 AfCLR 346
  • Reverend Christopher R. Mtikila v. United Republic of Tanzania (reparations) (13 June 2014) 1 AfCLR 72
  • Nguza Viking and Johnson Nguza v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 006/2015)
  • Wilfred Onyango Nganyi and Others v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 006/2013)
  • Mohamed Abubakari v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 007/2013)
  • Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza v. Republic of Rwanda (reparations) (7 December 2018) 2 AfCLR 202
  • Armand Guehi v. Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (merits and reparations) (7 December 2018) 2 AfCLR 477
  • Minani Evarist v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (21 September 2018) 2 AfCLR 402
  • Anaclet Paulo v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (21 September 2018) 2 AfCLR 446
  • Jibu Amir and Saidi Ally v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 014/2015)
  • Kalebi Elisamehe v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 028/2015)
  • Ally Rajabu and Others v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 007/2015)
  • Alex Thomas v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 005/2013)
  • Lucien Ikili Rashidi v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 009/2015)
  • Andrew Ambrose Cheusi v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 004/2015)
  • Kijiji Isiaga v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (21 March 2018) 2 AfCLR 218
  • Christopher Jonas v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (28 September 2017) 2 AfCLR 101

Full judgment

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Ramadhani v United Republic of Tanzania [2021] AfCHPR 34 (25 June 2021)
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.