| Case Number | APPLICATION NO. 6 OF 2018 (ARISING FROM REFERENCE NO. 2 OF 2018) |
| Summary | On 19th December 2017, the Speaker of the 4th Assembly of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) was elected without the participation of EALA Members from the Republic of Burundi and the United Republic of Tanzania. The Attorney General of the Republic of Burundi (‘the First Respondent’) subsequently filed Reference No. 2 of 2018, The Attorney General of the Republic of Burundi vs. The Secretary General of the East African Community in this Court, challenging the legality of that election on account of its purported violation of the rule(s) governing quorum in the Assembly. The office of the Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC) (‘the Second Respondent’) is sued therein in its representative capacity, being held responsible for the impugned actions of the Assembly. |
| Respondent | THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI and THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY |
| Complainant | HON. FRED MUKASA MBIDDE |
| Date filed | |
| Countries | Burundi , East African Community |
| Keyword | EALA |
| Treaty Article |
First Instance Judgment
| Verdict | Rule 36(4) of the Court's Rules leaves the question of who mayor may not be granted leave to join a matter as an intervener entirely to the discretion of the Court. It reads: If the Court is satisfied that the application (for leave to intervene) is justified, it shall allow the intervention and fix a time within which the intervener .... may submit a statement of intervention and the Registrar shall supply to the intervener ... copies of the pleadings. We have carefully considered the merits of this Application and deduce no injustice or prejudice whatsoever to be suffered by the First Respondent in the event that it is allowed. On the contrary, we deem it to be in the interests of justice as well as the best interests of the Community that a Member of the House who was present when the decisions underlying the impugned election were made be granted leave to intervene in a Reference as pivotal as Reference No.2 of 2018 is to the business of the Assembly. In the result, we would allow the Application for leave to intervene in Reference No.2 of 2018. We order each Party to bear its costs. |
| PDF document | Download the decision as PDF |
| Date delivered | April 24, 2018 |
| Quorum |
Appeal Judgment
| Verdict | |
| PDF document | |
| Date delivered | |
| Quorum |