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The Judicial Council of the Economic Community of West African States, on Wednesday, said it is combing its extant laws and reviewing the level of implementation of its past rulings by member-states.
This came as Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, called on the ECOWAS Court of Justice to refrain from issuing orders and judgments that are impossible to enforce.
“We’ve set up two committees; one to look into the rules and the other to look into the position or the status of the enforcement of judgments of the community court,” said the President of the ECOWAS Judicial Council and Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, after closed-door talks with President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja, on Thursday.
At the opening session of the statutory meeting of the ECOWAS Judicial Council on Tuesday, Fagbemi told participants, “It is important for the court to pay attention to the peculiarities of member states and refrain from issuing orders and judgments that are practically incapable of enforcement. There is also a dire need to promote and deepen alternative dispute resolution measures within the region.”
His comments followed calls from multiple stakeholders who say the effectiveness of the ECOWAS court has been doused by challenges in enforcing its judgments and orders.
At the first regular session of the 5th ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja on May 9, 2023, then-President of the Court, Edward Asante, revealed that over 106 decisions reached by the court, representing 70 per cent, are yet to be implemented by the member-states.
More so, Asante said 11 court rulings against ECOWAS were not complied with.
Speaking on Tuesday, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Omar Touray, also lamented the failure of member-states to implement its regional court’s decisions.
“The enforcement of the judgments of the community court has remained a major issue in the effective delivery of the mandate and responsibility of the judicial institution to the community citizen,” said Touray.
However, the military-led juntas of Burkina-Faso, Guinea and Niger announced their withdrawal over “illegal sanctions” harming its people.
They also alleged that the bloc had fallen under the influence of foreign governments whose interests, they say, are far from the people’s.
Although ECOWAS’s rules mandate a withdrawing member-state to issue a year’s notice, the junta declared their secession as immediate. It was the first withdrawal nearly 24 years after Mauritania pulled out in December 2000.
Responding to Fagbemi’s comments, the CJN said, “The Attorney-General…gave that as part of his pitch at the opening session on Tuesday and that is part of my remarks to Mr. President, also this morning that the issue on the enforcement of the judgments of the community court is going to be looked into.
“We’ve set up two committees; one to look into the rules and the other to look into the position or the status of the enforcement of judgments of the community court and as I told Mr. President, by the time the Council concludes its meeting, the recommendations will show that we have worked so hard to support the commission.”
The CJN said the council apprised the President of the discussions held at its recent meeting.
“The meeting with Mr. President went on beautifully. This is a courtesy visit to Mr. President by the ECOWAS Judicial Council. As the Chief Justice of Nigeria, I was elected the Chairman of the ECOWAS Judicial Council.
“The Council has been meeting at the Council Hall of the National Judicial Council since Tuesday and that’s why we planned to visit Mr. President…and we were granted the honour to make this visit, to apprise His Excellency about what transpired at our meeting. We planned to submit our recommendations to the authority when we conclude our meeting,” he explained.
