PROCEDURE
Jurisdiction
Meaning of human rights instrument
In determining whether an instrument is a human rights instrument the Court must look at the
purpose of the instrument which may be expressed in the enunciation of rights of individuals
or the prescription of mandatory obligation of state parties for the enjoyment of such rights
(Actions Pour la Protection des Droit de L’homme (APDH) v The Republic of Cote D’Ivoire,
application 001/2014, Judgement, 18 November 2016, para 57). In this respect the African
Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance and the ECOWAS Protocol on
Democracy, Good Governance supplementary to the Protocol relating to the Mechanism for
Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution are human rights instruments as they
prescribe obligations on state parties for the enjoyment of certain rights (Actions Pour la
Protection des Droit de L’homme (APDH) v The Republic of Cote D’Ivoire, application
001/2014, Judgement, 18 November 2016, para 63).