A delegation from the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by President Justice Edward Amoako Asante, paid a four-day working visit to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Arusha, Tanzania.
The purpose of the visit was to increase cooperation between the African Continental Court and the Sub-Continental Court, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in March 2018 in Arusha.
The African Court Registrar noted in a statement communicated to the Ghana News Agency in Tema that the ECOWAS Court’s visit followed a reciprocal one by the African Court to the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in April 2019.
Lady Justice Imani Daud Aboud, President of the African Court, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the visit’s aims included strengthening cooperation between the two courts at both the operational and judicial levels.
She said the visit was critical to deepening the effectiveness of the agreed MoU and strengthening judicial collaboration.
Lady Justice Aboud stated that the two courts’ leadership would also renew the MoU for another three years, reaffirming their commitment to collaboration.
Article 1 of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court established the African Court.
The African Continental Court supplements the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ protective mandate and aims to improve human rights protection on the African continent.
The ECOWAS Court of Justice, on the other hand, is a branch of the Economic organisation of West African States (ECOWAS), a West African regional integration organisation comprised of 15 member states.
While the Treaty of Lagos formed ECOWAS in 1975, the Court of Justice was established in 1991 with the approval of the Protocol on the Community Court of Justice.
According to the ECOWAS Revised Treaty of 1993, the Court of Justice is an ECOWAS entity. The Protocol was modified twice, in 2005 and 2006, with the 2005 Supplementary Protocol broadening the Court’s authority to accept individual human rights claims.
