2019 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 1(1) in any court’; 20 the Immigration Act 1995 similarly provides that in decisions relating to matters under the Act the Minister’s ‘decision shall be final’. 21 In May 2015, the applicant emailed the African Court directly to seek its help, without legal advice. 22 The application was registered and, after discussion by the African Court as to its validity, served on the respondent state. 23 In early 2016, the African Court contacted Asylum Access Tanzania, which agreed to provide legal assistance to the applicant. 24 In early 2017, the African Court also requested and subsequently received an amicus curiae brief from the Open Society Justice Initiative. 25 III ISSUES The principal issues discussed in the Anudu case were the right to a nationality and not to be arbitrarily deprived of nationality; the right not to be expelled arbitrarily from a country; and the right to be heard by an impartial tribunal. IV A HOLDING Admissibility Tanzania is one of only a handful of African states that have made the declaration provided for in the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights establishing the African Court to accept the right of individuals to petition the court directly. 26 However, the government of Tanzania argued that the African Court should not accept jurisdiction on the grounds that: (i) the initial email from the applicant did not specify the legal instruments under which violations were alleged; 27 (ii) he had not exhausted domestic remedies; 28 and (iii) he had not filed his claim within a reasonable time. 29 The African Court dismissed all three objections, on the following grounds: (i) the applicant’s response to the state after he had legal advice had specified the claims made; 30 (ii) the applicant had written to the Minister, which was the only administrative recourse available, and no court appeal was possible; 31 and (iii) the applicant had filed his complaint to the court within five months of receiving the Minister’s letter — which itself was sent five months after he had complained to the Minister. 32 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Tanzania Citizenship Act 1995 (Tanzania) art 23. Immigration Act 1995 (Tanzania) art 10(f). See also art 23. Anudo case (n 1) 5 [15]. ibid 6 [16]–[17]. ibid 6 [19]. ibid 7 [24]–[25]. ACHPR African Court Protocol (n 4) art 34(6). As of September 2018, the states that have made the declaration are Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Tanzania and Tunisia. Anudo case (n 1) 8–9 [31]–[37]. ibid 11–13 [42]–[53]. ibid 13–14 [54]–[59]. ibid 9 [35]. ibid 12–13 [51]–[53]. ibid 14 [58]–[59]. 172