190. The Chambers were to receive a budget of 7.4 million Euros financed from
contributions mainly from the African Union, the European Union, Chad, the
Netherlands, the United States, France, Belgium, Germany and Luxemburg.
191. Finally, Senegal and Chad signed a legal cooperation agreement on 3
May 2013 to facilitate the travels and the work of the judges of the African
Chambers within the Chadian territory for purposes of the trial. By this
agreement:
Each party agreed to appoint « a central authority » through whom
requests for mutual judicial assistance shall be made ;
The judges of the extraordinary Chambers could carry out investigations
on Chadian territory ;
The Chadian witnesses could move freely in Senegal ;
Chad shall be liable to produce any document or records that the
judges may request for as part of their investigations ;
The two countries shall undertake to :
o Guarantee by any means possible or by any appropriate
mechanisms the effective protection of any witness on its territory ,
before, during and after giving his evidence ;
o Facilitate the stay of Chadian victims and journalists on
Senegalese territory ;
o Allow persons involved in the trial to proceed to Chad to
participate in awareness-raising.
Chad shall undertake to broadcast information on the trial over public
radio and television networks which Senegal will broadcast and telecast.
192. The first trial of a former African Head of State accused of acts of torture
would have already started for Africa to demonstrate that the fight against
impunity established in the Constitutive Act of the Union is not a superficial
window-dressing.
III. THE RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL
(Articles 7 and 26):
193. The unfettered access to an impartial and independent justice with
procedural guarantees is a matter of constant concern to the Government of
Senegal. Article 91 of the Constitution views the judiciary as the watchdog of
rights and freedoms, and the principle of its independence is established by
Article 88 of the same Constitution.
194. At the organizational level, the Senegalese judicial system is based on three
types of courts apart from its Ministry of Justice and the various departments:
The superior courts consist of the Constitutional Council, the Supreme
Court and the Court of Auditors;
The courts of second instance are the Appeal Courts of Dakar, Kaolack,
St-Louis and Ziguinchor;
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