The president of the ECOWAS Court, Judge Edward Asante, has advocated the harmonization of the judicial systems of the Member States in order to achieve a community legal system that supports the integration objectives of the region.
Asante made this known while making a presentation at a court forum for judges, magistrates and officials from the Kwara State judiciary in Ilorin during the Court’s ongoing week-long awareness campaign in the state.
The ECOWAS Court Communications Department revealed this in a statement made available to the Nigerian News Agency on Friday in Abuja.
Asante in the presentation made by Atoki, said that the harmonization of the ECOWAS judicial system can be achieved through the alignment of the legal texts of the Community with those of the States.
Asante stressed that the relationship between ECOWAS and national courts is “a crucial element in the ECOWAS integration process.”
“It is therefore of utmost importance that the ECOWAS Member States adopt the revised ECOWAS Treaty and the Protocols and Supplementary Acts of the Community.
“It is also imperative to deepen the relationship between the judges of the ECOWAS Court of Justice and the national courts of the ECOWAS member states,” Asante said.
Asante stated that with the international character of the ECOWAS Court and its long-standing position, it is not in competition with national courts nor is it an appellate court on their decisions.
He explained that the ECOWAS Court and the National Courts play complementary roles in the administration of justice and the integration of the region.
“In a long chain of decisions, the ECOWAS Court of Justice has always held that it is not a court of appeal over the national courts of member states.
“And it has maintained that it has no jurisdiction to rule on the Judgments of the national courts, unless the national Courts or the parties refer to questions of interpretation of community texts.”
He stated that the ECOWAS Court only that the national courts have the obligation to apply the decisions of the Court.
The President identified potential areas of conflict between regional and national courts to include their co-location within the same geographic space; its concurrent human rights jurisdiction.
Other areas of conflict include “the lack of requirements for the exhaustion of local remedies before the ECOWAS court, which could lead to the purchase of forums.
“The failure to domesticate the 1993 Revised Treaty and the Protocol on the Court in accordance with its obligations under the treaty.
“The lack of compliance or execution of the Judgments of the Court; gaps in ECOWAS legal texts.
“And the internal laws of the Member States lead to a lack of clear definition of the relationship between the two courts.
Chief Justice of Kwara, Justice Sulyman Kawu, praised the kindness of the regional court in organizing the campaign.
Kawu said raising awareness would not only create greater awareness of the Court among citizens, but also open the door for more state legal professionals to “ply their trade before the court” and broaden the scope of the law.
He reminded those with judicial powers of the ‘enormous and far-reaching powers they wield over our fellow human beings.
This, he said, requires legal professionals to demonstrate good character, reputation, diligence, hard work, honesty, integrity, sound knowledge of the law, and consistent adherence to professional ethics.
