By Feima Sesay
His Excellence Dr. Julius Maada Bio president of the Republic of Sierra Leone has on Monday 13th May 2024 opened a four-day ECOWAS Court of Justice Conference with the theme: Enhancing the Role, Relevance and Effectiveness of the ECOWAS Court of Justice through the Strengthening of Synergies between the Court and National Stakeholders
The conference which attracted over two hundred and 50 participants was held at the Freetown International Conference Centre, Aberdeen in Freetown.
The conference brought together delegates from the 15 ECOWAS member countries including the judiciary, Sierra Leone Bar Association, Academic staff and senior government officials in the country. The conference will end on Thursday, May 16, 2024.
President Bio in his statement before the official opening explained that Sierra Leone was one of the founding members of ECOWAS, and as a member of ECOWAS, the country is bound by the treaties. He added that in recent years, West Africa has faced several challenges but amidst these challenges, they have found resilience. He furthered that the theme was timely and very significant in strengthening democratic governance, adding that “it remains us to build an equitable society”. He said that the country has always cooperated with the decisions of the court, noting that the country is steadfast in upholding human rights. He commended the leadership of ECOWAS Court of Justice for working towards building synergies between the court and the stakeholders.
Vice president of ECOWAS community court of justice, Hon. justice Gberi-be Ouattara delivering a welcome address on behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, Hon. Justice Edward Amoako Asante, said that the essential role of the Court is to ensure the observance of law and justice in the interpretation and application of the Treaty and the Protocols and Conventions annexed thereto, and to be charged with the responsibility of settling such disputes as may be referred to it in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty or between Member States inter-se and Institutions of the Community.
He explained that the 2005 Supplementary Protocol, which amended the initial 1991 Protocol on Court, granted to the Court four clear mandates: mandate as a Community Court, with contentious and advisory jurisdictions; mandate as an ECOWAS Public Service Court, mandate as an Arbitral Tribunal and mandate as a Human Rights Court.
In his keynote address on the theme of the conference, the Dean of the UPSA Law School, Professor Ernest Kofi Abotsi, said that An effective court is one that meets what I call ‘the judicial criteria’, namely, (1) dispensing justice, (2) enjoying a regime of enforced judgments and orders, (3) advancing a body of convincing jurisprudence, and (4) enjoying broad public acceptance of its work.
These indices of effectiveness are vital to the Court’s ability to scale the bar set by its mandate. The court’s duty to dispense justice is at the core of its mandate. The obligation to interpret the text of the treaty and promote its application between member states is a justice mediating tool and has helped the Court to assist member states, ECOWAS as an organization, and community citizens come to terms with the obligations created by the norms of the treaty.
For the future direction of the community, the Court must build on its achievements thus far, but must also perhaps adopt bolder and more imaginative instrumental and jurisprudential leadership in helping shape a future for the community founded on original ideals. He said that International tribunals occupy a peculiar space in the legal ordering of institutions and their legitimacy within the structures of state. Apart from being supranational in orientation, they are often dependent on the collective consent of member states to enforce their decisions and to ensure that their jurisdictions are accorded domestic recognition and effectiveness.COWAS Court of Justice.
