Wakilii

XYZ v Benin (Application for Provisional Measures No. 002-2019) (Application 57 of 2019)

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2019] AfCHPR 59 · 2019 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
Application for provisional measures dismissed unanimously

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 dismissed an application for provisional measures seeking to stay execution of a Benin court judgment that imposed electoral ineligibility on a former presidential candidate. The Court found that the applicant failed to demonstrate extreme gravity, urgency, or risk of irreparable harm, and noted that under Benin law the judgment was already stayed pending appeal.

Outcome

Application for provisional measures dismissed unanimously

Facts

A Benin national filed an application for provisional measures against Benin, requesting the Court to stay execution of a judgment of the Cotonou Court of First Instance dated 2 August 2019. That judgment had convicted former Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou of forgery and exceeding campaign expense limits in the 2016 presidential election, sentencing him to five years of electoral ineligibility, six months suspended imprisonment, and a fine of 50 million CFA Francs. The applicant, who requested anonymity, claimed the prosecution was designed to prevent Zinsou from contesting the 2021 presidential election, thereby limiting the applicant's right to vote for the candidate of his choice. Zinsou's counsel had filed an appeal on 6 August 2019. The Respondent State argued that under Benin's Criminal Procedure Code, the judgment was automatically stayed upon filing of the appeal, rendering the request for provisional measures irrelevant.

Issues

  1. Whether the Court has prima facie jurisdiction to hear the application for provisional measures.
  2. Whether the conditions for granting provisional measures under Article 27(2) of the Protocol have been met, namely extreme gravity, urgency, and risk of irreparable harm to persons.

Orders

  • Application for provisional measures dismissed.

Rules and key headnotes

Provisional Measures — Prima Facie Jurisdiction
When considering an application for provisional measures, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights need not satisfy itself that it has jurisdiction on the merits of the case, but simply that it has prima facie jurisdiction.
Provisional Measures — Conditions for Grant
Provisional measures under Article 27(2) of the Protocol to the African Charter may be granted only if the conditions of extreme gravity, urgency, and prevention of irreparable harm to persons have been met. Such measures are of a preventive character and do not prejudge the merits of the application.
Provisional Measures — Burden of Proof
An applicant seeking provisional measures must provide sufficient information to demonstrate extreme gravity or urgency and the risk of irreparable harm. Where the applicant has not provided enough information to meet this burden, the application for provisional measures will be dismissed.

Legislation cited (9)

  • 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 34(6)
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 5(3)
  • 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)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 7(1)(d)
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 13(1)
  • Rules of Court Rule 51(1)
  • Code of Criminal Procedure Article 577
  • Constitution of Benin Article 122

Cases cited (2)

  • African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights v Libya (Application No. 002/2013)
  • Amini Juma v United Republic of Tanzania (Application No. 024/2016)

Full judgment

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

XYZ v Benin (Application for Provisional Measures No. 002-2019) (Application 57 of 2019) [2019] AfCHPR 59 (2 December 2019)
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.