New ECOWAS court judges pledge to deepen jurisprudence
Newly appointed judges of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice have expressed their determination to assist the court attain its legal philosophy. The judges expressed the view at the 10th Judicial Retreat of the court in Goshen City, Nasarawa State that lasted from October 23 – 27. The new judges made the commitment against the […]
Staff and judges of the ECOWAS Court of Justice during their 10th Retreat in Nasarawa State recently
Newly appointed judges of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice have expressed their determination to assist the court attain its legal philosophy.
The judges expressed the view at the 10th Judicial Retreat of the court in Goshen City, Nasarawa State that lasted from October 23 – 27.
The new judges made the commitment against the backdrop of the reduction of the number of judges of the court from seven to five.
The newly appointed judges are: the president, Edward Amoako Asante (Ghana); vice president, Gberi-Be Ouattara (Cote d’Ivoire); members are Dupe Atoki (Nigeria); Keikura Bangura (Sierra Leone); and Jahuaria Tavares Silva Moreira Costa (Cape Verde).
Speaking earlier, the president of the court, Justice Asante blamed the reduction on the delay in the translation of court processes into the working languages of the court.
“This is particularly poignant with the increased number of cases on the court’s docket, currently 107 cases, a number that is expected to increase based on the trend,” he said.
He said the court decided 318 cases comprising 190 judgments, 105 rulings, 18 revision judgments and five advisory opinions between April 2004 and October 2018.
Also speaking, Dupe Atoki said the new members will do all that is possible to give justice to the ECOWAS community in line with the jurisprudence of the court according to its mandate.
“We would do our best to speedily reduce the number of cases by working harder and sitting more often, and clearing the backlog that we can humanly speaking.
“We are calling for more judges to be appointed because justice delayed is justice denied. The essence of justice is speedy dispensation of justice to community citizens who have come to the court.”
On the enforcement of the decisions of the court, Justice Atoki said the commitment of member states on implementation of decisions needs to be worked on, bearing in mind that these decisions are meant to bring succor to their citizens whose rights have been violated.
Also speaking, Justice Jahuaria Tavares Silva Moreira Costa said the five members of the court are ready to deal with the number of cases in the court, while adding that she believes the issue of the reduction of the number of judges would be resolved.
Throwing light on the aim of the retreat, the Chief Registrar of the court, Tony Anene-Maidoh explained that the objective of the four-days retreat was to introduce the new members and judges and executive assistants to the jurisprudence of the court as developed by former members between 2003 and 2018.