The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission)adopted its revised Rules of Procedure (2020) at its 27th Extra-Ordinary Session, held in Banjul (The Gambia) from 19 February to 4 March 2020. The Rules entered into force on 2 June 2020, pursuant to Rule 145 of the Rules of Procedure (2020).
Considering that Rule 115 (5) of the Rules of Procedure (2020) provides that the Secretary shall consider and seize Communications on behalf of the Commission, and following the coming into effect of the Rules of Procedure in June 2020, the Commission discussed the practical implementation of administrative Seizure of Communications under the new Rules, and adoptedthe “Guidance Note on the Operationalization of the procedure for Seizure of Complaints pursuant to the Rules of Procedure (2020)”during its 66th Ordinary Session which took place virtually from 13 July to 7 August 2020.
During the same Session, the Commission also adopted Online/Standardized Complaints Forms for Inter-State Communication Procedure pursuant to Articles 48 & 49 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Charter) and Rule 109 of the Rules of Procedure (2020), as well as for Non-State Communication Procedure Pursuant to Article 55 of the African Charter.
At its 29th Extra-Ordinary Session, done virtually on 2, 3 and 5 October 2020, the Commission further deliberated on other aspects of the Guidance Note and decided to prepare Practice Directives on the temporal scope of the Rules of Procedure (2020) and on the Administrative Seizure of Complaints. The Practice Directives were considered and adopted at the 33rd Extra-Ordinary Session of the Commission which took place virtually from 12 to 20 July 2021.
This Public notice therefore brings to the attention of the general public, the Complaint Forms which should henceforth (effective from 30 September 2021), be utilised by Litigants submitting Complaints before the Commission, and can be accessed on the Commission’s web pages:
The Practice Directives can be accessed on the Commission’s web pages:
Done in Banjul, The Gambia, 13 September 2021
