On this subject the DRC maintains that its domestic legal system
provided for available, effective remedies which Mr. Diallo should have
exhausted before his cause could be espoused by Guinea. It first observes
that, contrary to Guinea’s contention, Mr. Diallo’s expulsion from the
territory was lawful. The DRC acknowledges that the notice signed by
the immigration officer “inadvertently” refers to “refusal of entry”
(refoulement) instead of “expulsion”. Further, it does not challenge
Guinea’s assertion that Congolese law provides that refusals of entry are
not appealable. The DRC nevertheless maintains that “despite this error,
it is indisputable . . . that this was indeed an expulsion and not a refusal
of entry”. According to the DRC, calling the action a refusal of entry was
therefore not intended to deprive Mr. Diallo of a remedy; on the contrary,
“if Mr. Diallo had appealed to the Congolese authorities for permission
to return to the DRC, that appeal would have had some prospect
of success”. The DRC cites the general principle of Congolese law that
reconsideration of a decision can in all cases be requested from the
authority having taken it and, if necessary, from that authority’s superior.
It maintains that Mr. Diallo never asked the competent authorities
to reconsider their position and to allow him to return to the DRC.
According to the DRC, such a request would have had a good chance of
success, especially after the change in régime in the country in 1997. The
effectiveness of requests for redress in respect of expulsion decisions in
the DRC is alleged to be confirmed moreover by a substantial practice,
the DRC citing in this regard two applications made by foreign nationals