PROCEDURE
Limitations of Rights
In the Court’s jurisprudence, the restriction of a right enshrined in the African Charter must
be such that is necessary in a democratic society, reasonably proportionate to the legitimate
aim pursued, must be restricted by a law of general application, and that the Respondent state
must show evidence that the restriction serves one of the purposes in article 27(2) of the
African Charter. In arriving at this conclusion, the Court adopted the African Commission’s
jurisprudence in Media Rights Agenda and others v Nigeria and Prince v South Africa
(Tanganyika Law Society, The Legal and Human Rights Centre v The United Republic of
Tanzania, application 009/2011; Reverend Christopher R. Mtikila v The United Republic of
Tanzania, application 011/2011, judgment, 14 June 2013).