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ECOWAS Court to be independent, says Donli
By Rotimi Fadeyi
Senior
Correspondent, Abuja
President of the Community Court of Justice
(otherwise known as the Economic Community of West African States Court),
Justice Hansine Donli, has given assurance that the court would continue to
maintain its independence and dispense justice without fear or favour.
Speaking in Abuja at the weekend at the
commissioning of the office complex and courtroom of the court, Donli said the
jurisdiction of the court has been expanded to allow individuals to file cases
instead of approaching the court only through their home countries.
She said, “The Community Court of
Justice has been hampered by the narrow scope of its competence as provided for
by Article 9 of its protocol. It is of great concern to us that individuals do
not have direct access to the court. Only member states and institutions of
ECOWAS have direct access to the court”.
“This is a major impediment capable
of incapacitating or crippling the court. It amounts to a denial of a
fundamental right to community citizens. It is why since the establishment of
this court in 2001, only two cases have been filed before it and individual
filed both cases.
“The competence of the court was
therefore an issue for determination in the very first case that was filed by
one Mr. Olajide Afolabi against the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” she
added. She explained that the case had to be struck out for lack of competence.
Chairman of ECOWAS Council of Ministers,
Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku from Ghana noted that ECOWAS was the first sub regional
group on the African Continent to establish a community court to advance its
integration programme.
He said in order to attract foreign
investors the sub-region is faced with the challenge of ensuring that the court
makes genuine impact by improving corporate governance, trade development and
investment environment.
He however explained that as the region
progresses and further open borders and encourage real free movement of
persons, goods and services, we should be more prepared to deal with the
anticipated increase in cross border crimes, including human trafficking,
smuggling of goods and other crimes which compromise the security of the
sub-region.
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