FG Vows to Support ECOWAS Community Court

By Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The federal government has promised to support the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in its effort to continue to be an independent regional court towards economic integration of West Africa.

The Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada, stated this at the opening ceremony of the 2019/2020 legal year of the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja.

The minister, in a statement issued on Monday by his Special Adviser on Media, Ibrahim Aliyu, congratulated the ECOWAS court for its various achievement in the dispensation of justice especially in the area of citizens right, while also assuring it of the total support of the government in discharging its responsibility.

Dada said an independent ECOWAS Court of Justice is vital in reposing the confidence of ECOWAS citizens to continue to trust the court with their litigations.

Also, the President of the court, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, said that a new Electronic Case Management System that would enable the remote filing of applications before the ECOWAS court by parties and lawyers would become operational during the 2019/2020 legal year.

He said that when operational, the system would end the era when parties and lawyers had to be physically present at the Abuja headquarter of the court to file their applications with the attendant costs in terms of transportation, accommodation and related costs, but could subsequently lodge their applications from the comfort of their homes and offices.

Asante said the system would also facilitate the caseload management functions of the judge rapporteurs and registry in addition to improving access to the court which could be further enhanced for indigent citizens with the establishment of a legal aid fund.

According to him, “I am delighted to report that we have concluded design of an Electronic Case Management System which we expect should go live within the new legal year.”

Earlier, the Chief Registrar of the court, Mr. Tony Anene-Maidoh, while enumerating some of the achievements of the court, said a new record was set by the court in 2018 as 61 new cases were lodged in the year.

He said in the overall judicial statistics of the court, a total of 425 cases have been lodged before the court since its inception.

Maidoh however said that the successes recorded were not without challenges such as increased workload, inadequate office accommodation and fewer translators, among others.