APDH v Côte d’Ivoire (2016) 1 AfCLR 668 695 alleges violation of only the African Charter on Democracy, Elections 26 and Governance;26 it made a similar allegation in its additional 27 its additional brief dated 4 November Application dated 14 April 2015,27 28 and at the public hearing held on Thursday 3 March 2016.29 29 2015,28 30 31 The content of paragraphs 3730 and 3831 of the judgment is therefore more faithful to the reality (see to a lesser extent paragraph 3). 29. It is true that the Applicant mentions the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and the International Covenant on Civil and Political 32 Rights in the reasoning of its additional submissions.32 The Applicant merely states, however, that these three instruments also guarantee the “right to equality of all before the law” without expressly invoking their violation. In any event, it makes no mention of these three instruments in relation to the core issue under discussion, namely, the independence and impartiality of the Independent Electoral 33 Commission. The same is true with regard to its pleadings.33 26 See pp 2, 3, 5 and 6; see also the letter of 7 July 2014 by which the Applicant filed its Application. 27 See pp 1, 8, 12, 13, 14 and 15. 28 “Declare and rule that the [impugned] law violates: 1) the right to equality of all before the law as provided in particular under Article 10.3 of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance; 2) the right to have independent and impartial national electoral bodies responsible for elections, as provided in particular under Article 17 paragraph 1 of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance”, p. 11. 29 “Mr President, in light of all that we have argued and all the Pleadings that we have sent to the Court, APDH respectfully asks that its Application be declared admissible and that therefore it should be declared that the Ivorian Law governing the Electoral Commission violates Human Rights in its Article 17 of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance and therefore condemn Cote D’Ivoire to amend its Electoral Law to the provisions of Article 17 of the Charter so that Côte D’Ivoire can truly become a Democratic State as has been stated in the Charter” Mr Guizot Takoré’s Pleadings, Record of Proceedings of the Public Hearing of Thursday 3 March 2016, pp. 1 and 12; see also the Pleadings Documents dated 3 March 2016, p. 23. 30 “In its Application, APDH prays the Court to rule that the afore-mentioned Law No. 2014-335, is not in conformity with the African Charter on Democracy and, consequently, order the State of Côte d’Ivoire to review the said law in light of its international commitments”. 31 “In its additional pleadings, the Applicant prays the Court to ... declare and rule that the Ivorian law No. 2014-335 of 5 June 2014 (sic) on the Independent Electoral Commission, especially the new Articles 5, 15, 16 and 17 thereof, violates the right to equality of everyone before the law as well as the right to an independent and impartial national electoral body with responsibility for management of elections provided under Articles 10(3) and 17(1) of the Charter on Democracy”. 32 Additional brief pp. 2, 3 and 4. 33 See Pleadings document dated 3 March 2016, pp. 16-17. At the hearing, the Applicant, in its reasoning, however indicated that “the established violations of this law, relate to rights such as the right to equality of all before the law, the right to independent and impartial electoral bodies for management of elections, the right to participate in public affairs, the right to self-determination which are guaranteed both by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance “as well as the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Record of Proceedings of the Public Hearing of Thursday 3 March 2016, p. 4.