The details for the operation of the court were established by the 1991 protocol on the community court of justice signed by the ecowas high contracting parties. Ecowas community court of justice a conscientious objector. Request pdf a new human rights court for west africa. Ecwccjjug3119 between hama amadou applicant assisted by maitre francois serres and maitre mike bul lawyers registered respectively with the. There is therefore no precedent in ecowas law where the verdict of a supreme court of a member nation has ever been overturned or set aside by the ecowas court. Third, when the ecowas courts early rulings generated opposition from some governments, the member. Revisedtreaty economic community of west african states. Although outside the scope of this paper, it should be. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of 5,114,162 km 2 1,974,589 sq mi, and in 2015 had an estimated population of over 349 million the union was established on 28 may 1975, with the signing of the treaty. Ecowas member states have decided to give the court, which exists formally since 1991 and was in practice only set up in 2001, a specific mandate in that respect. The community court of justice of the economic community of west african states.
The ecowas court is the organizations judicial organ. Since acquiring jurisdiction over human rights complaints in 2005, the ecowas court has issued numerous decisions condemning human rights violations by the member states of the. Mcallister the community court of justice of the economic community of west african states. The economic community of west african states, also known as ecowas, is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in west africa. The primary aim of ecowas is to promote cooperation and integration, leading to the establishment of an economic union in west africa in order to raise the living standards of its peoples, and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster. The ecowas community court of justice and the horizontal application of human rights. The economic community of west african states ecowas community court of justice has accepted the submission of individual complaints for human rights violations since 2005. Established in 1991 and located in abuja, nigeria, the court hears cases from nigeria, benin, burkina faso, cape verde, cote divoire, the gambia, ghana, guinea, guinea. The limits of the ecowas court of justice cocorioko. The ecowas court and the politics of access to justice in. Protocol relating to free movement, residence and establishment provided for rights to enter. The community court of justice was created pursuant to the provisions of articles 6 and 15 of the revised treaty of the economic community of west african states ecowas.
Oj official journal of the economic community of west african states ecowas xiii pca permanent court of arbitration. This borders on the applicability of community law by community institutions like the ecowas court of justice. Ecowas community court of justice, list of decided cases from 2004 till date, at. Regional integration and nontariff measures in the. Justice edward asante, president of the ecowas court of justice, has appealed to member states to enforce judgment passed by the court, an issue he noted was a major challenge of the court. Ecowas court and horizontal application of human rights 31 justice eccj4 has ruled that only economic community of west african states ecowas member states and community institutions can be sued before it. Ecwccjjud1112, debunking the widelyheld belief that there is no mechanism where traders in the region whose community. It was created pursuant to the provisions of articles 6 and 15 of the revised treaty of the economic community of west african states ecowa. Economic community of west african states ecowas is among the major african regional economic communities that has been shaping the evolution of regional integration in western africa. Is the ecowas court of justice a toothless bulldog that. Critical issues in the human rights mandate of the ecowas court of justice solomon t ebobrah abstract a new opportunity for international human rights litigation in west africa was presented in 2005 when the economic community of west african states adopted a protocol to empower its judicial organ, the ecowas community court of justice.
Ecowas community court of justice download the 2page fact sheet. Understanding ecowas efforts in promoting a governance. A new opportunity for international human rights litigation in west africa was presented in 2005 when the economic community of west african states adopted a protocol to empower its judicial organ, the ecowas community court of justice, to determine cases of human rights violation that occur in ecowas member states. By utilising a contentanalysis method, in addition to extensive personal interviews with the president of the. Its organisational framework, functioning mechanism, powers, and procedure applicable before it are set out in protocol ap1791 of 6 july 1991. Justice wright admitted to journalists later that not much has been done by the court to ensure that ordinary people understand its mandate and scope of operation. The 1975 ecowas treaty included a mandate for a community court of justice ccj to adjudicate disputes related to the interpretation and operation of the treaty, as revised in 1993. The community court of justice of the economic community of west african states ecowas court is an increasingly active and bold adjudicator of human rights. Although the creation of the ecowas community court of justice ecj was approved in 1991 in pursuant to the provisions of articles 6 and 15 of the 1993 revised treaty of the economic community of west african states, it was only set up a decade later in 2001. However, according to article 12 of the protocol establishing the court of justice, representation by an agent or lawyer is required. State s, of non tariff barriers in order to estab lish a free trade area at the community le vel.
The ecowas community court of justice the ecowas community court of justice eccj is. Lets make ecowas a political and economic success nana addo. The gambia must implement ecowas court judgment on. According to the supplementary protocol from 19 january 2005, the court has jurisdiction to determine cases of violations of human rights that occur in any member state.
Ecowas revised treaty chapterxi cooperationin human resources, information, social and cultural affairs articles 60 66 37 chapter xii cooperationin otherareas article 67 40. Understanding ecowas efforts in promoting a governance agenda. Jan 30, 2017 justice wright made the statement on friday, when three of the seven judges of the court held a closed door meeting with justices of the supreme court of liberia. The economic community of west african states ecowas was established in 1975 with the formal aim. In that regard, the court points out that by extending its jurisdiction to cover. Economic community of west african states wikipedia. Ecowas court of justice for everybody liberian observer. Ecowas community court of justice ecowas mission in cote divoire. Community citizen or citizens means any national s of member states who satisfy the conditions stipulated in the protocol defining community citizenship.
Community court of justice economic community of west. Ecowas revised treaty chapter iii institutions ofthe community establishment composition and functions article 6 institutions the institutions of the community shall be. Falana and moustapha filed suit with the ecowas court in october 2007, alleging violations of the right to freedom of movement guaranteed by the ecowas free movement protocol and the african charter. Economic community of west african statesecowas from an ecowas of states to an ecowas of peoples. The ecowas community court of justice the ecowas community court of justice eccj is an increasingly active and bold international. Article 19 the court shall set up a translating service staffed by experts with adequate legal. The ecowas community court of justice was created by a protocol signed in 1991 and was later included in article 6 of the revised treaty of the community in 1993. The sadc tribunal was created in 1992, at which time many wanted the tribunals mission to extend beyond questions of economic cooperation into the realm of human rights protection, much like. Court of justice means the court of justice of th e c ommunity established under. The ecowas court of justice as an investment tribunal request pdf. From better crisis prevention and management, financial and macroeconomic integration, to free movement of people, the list of achievements by. Ecowas bank for investment and development ebid west african health organisation waho the intergovernmental action group against money laundering and terrorism financing in west africa giaba specialized agencies. Ccje community court of justice, ecowas ecowas court cels centre for european legal studies. Ecowas ecowas court of justice institutions jurisdictional hierarchy.
Institutions economic community of west african statesecowas. The ecowas court of justice is an organ of the economic community of west african states ecowas, a regional integration community of 15 member states in western africa. Ecowas community court of justice open society justice. Benin, burkina faso, cape verde, cote divoire, the gambia, ghana, guinea, guinea bissau, liberia, mali, niger, nigeria, senegal, sierra leone and togo. Community court of justice community parliament ecowas bank for investment and development ebid west african health organisation waho the intergovernmental action group against money laundering and terrorism financing in west.
The president of the ecowas court of justice, justice edward amoako asante has challenged members of the bar association of cote divoire to set up a mechanism for providing free legal assistance to ivoirians who may wish to approach the court for the protection of their human rights but who cannot afford the legal cost. Originally conceived as the tribunal of the community in the 1975 ecowas treaty, the ecowas community court of justice eccj came into existence through a 1991. Amending the protocol relating to the community court of justice and article 4g of the revised treaty of ecowas by the defendant. Facts the plaintiff is a citizen of the federal republic of nigeria, a member state of the economic community of west african states.
The ecowas court of justice was not set up to overturn verdicts of the supreme courts of member nations, nor to dictate to heads of state of member nations how to govern their countries. The community court of justice of the economic community of west. The economic community of west african states ecowas was established in 1975 with the formal aim of promoting economic cooperation between 15 countries with different historic trajectories colonisation, language, and administrative cultures yet sharing similar socioeconomic conditions. Community court of justice has accepted the submission of individual. Ecowas community court of justice on the basis of articles 9. Reviewing the relationship between the ecowas court and. Court of justice of the economic community of west african states ecowas holden at abuja, nigeria on wednesday, the 30th day of october 2019 suit no. Institutions economic community of west african states. Gafta great arab free trade area hrs human rights icc international criminal court. Court of justice means the court of justice of the community established under. Created on 28 may 1975, the economic community of west african states ecowas is a regional intergovernmental organization formed by the following fifteen 15 member states. It is currently composed of five judges selected by the ecowas member states 35 and has its seat in abuja, nigeria. The ecowas court of justice citizens of ecowas member states can file complaints against human rights violations of stateactors at the regional court of justice.
In this direction, having regard to article 4g of the ecowas revised treaty which empowers the court to apply the african charter on human and peoples right, more particularly article 7i on the right to fair hearing and having regard to findings of fact made herein, the court decides that the plaintiff has established that his dismissal by. In uwechue and serap, the eccj held that, in the event of a dispute between individuals on an alleged violation of. Since acquiring jurisdiction over human rights complaints in 2005, the ecowas court has issued numerous decisions condemning human rights violations by the member states of the economic. Critical issues in the human rights mandate of the ecowas. Ebobrah research partnership 12008 this research paper has been produced as a part of the research partnership programme at the. Since we were studying the role of the ecowas court of justice in the protection of human rights under its treaty, we also considered the contributions made by academic scholars on the subject matter, such as in text books, journals, articles in magazines, newspapers and most importantly, some case law reports from the ecowas community court of justice s decisions. Investorstate dispute settlement using the ecowas court. With only five 5 ecowas member states currently enforcing judgements of the court of justice, president akufoaddo told the gathering that i am happy to inform you that i have designated the office of the attorney general as the competent national authority for the enforcement, in ghana, of the judgments of the ecowas court of justice.
Ecowas court news latest breaking stories and top headlines. The ecowas community court of justice and the horizontal. On 14 february 2006, hadijatou mani koraou brought a complaint before the civil and customary tribunal of konni, to have her desire to be totally free. An appraisal of the role of ecowas court of justice in the. However, the court did not officially begin operations until the 1991 protocol came into effect on 5 november 1996. Analysis of the role of the ecowas court in regional.
Here in west africa, the ecowas court of justice has held that national courts are also community courts as they have competence to apply the community law which forms part of the internal order judgement no. Request pdf the ecowas court of justice as an investment tribunal this article considers the extent to which foreign investors in member. A case can be brought by anyone under the jurisdiction of a member state of the economic community of west african states ecowas. Court of justice means the court of justice of the community established under article 15 of this. Th e 2005 reform initiated by the economic community of west african states ecowas had the double eff ect of putting an end to ten years of judicial lethargy and positioning its community court of justice eccj as a promising international human rights body. Current careers economic community of west african states. There is no requirement to exhaust domestic remedies, meaning individuals do not need to pursue national judicial remedies before bringing a claim to the ecowas court of justice. This antiecowas decision rendered by the learned justice suurbaareh of the high court of ghana offends the principles of private and public international law, and if allowed to stand, will spell doom to the continued existence of ecowas as a subregional body and.