Geremy Baguian vs Republic of Burkina Faso
On May 28th, 2019, Mr. Geremy Baguian (the Applicant) filed an application instituting proceedings against the Republic of Burkina Faso (the defendant State) before the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights (the ACHPR or the Court) for alleged violations of the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Charter) in its articles 5 and 7.
Mr. Baguian, at the time of the institution of the proceedings, was serving a life sentence for homicide pronounced by the Criminal Division of the Ouagadougou Court of Appeal. As the Burkinabe State did not participate in the proceedings, although all the information had been communicated to it, the Court delivered a judgment in absentia.
The Court concluded that it had jurisdiction to hear the case. However, the Court considered that the application was inadmissible since the applicant had lodged an appeal in cassation with the Supreme Court of his country 11 months and 25 days earlier. The African Court considered that this delay was reasonable. Accordingly, the domestic remedies had not been exhausted and the application to the Court is therefore inadmissible.
This summary is provided for informational purposes only, does not involve the responsibility of Dome and should in no way be used as a substitute for a careful reading of the judgment and order of the case.
