The Prohibition of Torture and Ill-treatment in the African Human Rights System: A HANDBOOK FOR VICTIMS AND THEIR ADVOCATES significantly curtailed, as the tribunal would not be able to hear cases brought by individuals against their governments. b) Submitting Complaints Before the Tribunal Under Rule 32 of the SADCT Rules of Procedure as found in the SADCT Protocol, proceedings can be instituted by an application which must include details of the applicant and the respondent, as well as the nature of the claim and the relief sought.142 Cases could also be instituted by special agreement under Rule 34.143 The admissibility requirements for complaints submitted to the Tribunal are outlined in Article 15 of the SADCT Protocol, which requires that the applicant is a SADC member State, a natural or legal person or an employee of the SADC. An applicant need not be a citizen of a member State to bring a claim. Additionally, the SADC Summit and the SADC Council of Ministers could apply to the Tribunal when seeking an advisory opinion. Claims could be brought against SADC member States or any SADC institution, but the Tribunal did not have jurisdiction over disputes between private or public persons only.144 Unlike the ECOWAS Court of Justice and the EAC Court of Justice, the SADC Tribunal required an exhaustion of domestic remedies, ‘unless the municipal law does not offer remedy, or the remedy offered is ineffective’.145 During its short existence the Tribunal ruled on twenty-one cases, dealing with various issues including unfair dismissal,146 land confiscation legislation147, deportation orders148 and exclusion from the power-sharing process.149 Two cases in particular were of significance in respect to development of regional jurisdiction on torture. The first case of torture before the Tribunal was Gondo and Others v. Republic of Zimbabwe,150 in which 12 victims of violence inflicted by the Zimbabwean police brought a claim against Zimbabwe, who failed to comply with the orders of its court. Zimbabwe relied on section 5(2) of the State Liability Act, which denied the 142 SADCT, Rules of Procedure, Rules 32 and 33. 143 Ibid., Rule 34. 144 SADCT, Albert Fungai Mutize et al v. Mike Campbell (Pvt) Ltd and others, Case No. SADC (T) 8/2008 (30 May 2008). 145 SADCT, Mike Campbell (PVT) Limited and Others v. The Republic of Zimbabwe, Case No. SADC (T)11/2008 (18 July 2008). 146 SADCT, Ernest Francis Mtingwi v. the SADC Secretariat, 2007, Case No. SADC (T) 1/2007 (27 May 2008). 147 SADCT, Mike Campbell (Pvt) Ltd and Others v. Republic of Zimbabwe, Case No. SADC (T) 2/2008. 148 SADCT, United Republic of Tanzania v. Cimexpan (Mauritius) LTD and Others, Case No. SADC (T) 01/2009 (11 June 2010). 149 SADCT, United Peoples’ Party of Zimbabwe v. SADC and Others, Case No. SADC (T) 12/2008 (14 August 2009). 150 SADCT, L. T. Gondo and Others v. Republic of Zimbabwe, Case No. SADC (T) 05/2008. 42