ECOWAS Court President Commends ECOWAS Parliament for effort to Deepen Democracy, Good Governance

The President of Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, has commended the ECOWAS Parliament for its engagement with high officials of Member States under military administration to forestall their withdrawal from the regional bloc.In his goodwill message at the swearing-in of the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament, Justice Asante congratulated Right Honourable Hadja Mémounatou Ibrahima, the newly elected Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament and the first woman to have attained that position.He equally extended his good wishes to the new Members of Parliament.He emphasized the need for greater synergy among Parliamentarians to tackle the challenges facing the sub-region, particularly the resurgence of military coups and the threat by Member States under military rule to withdraw from the regional bloc.He noted that the parliamentary session coincided with a period of seismic political developments in the region which if not appropriately managed, have grave implications f or the region and could potentially hamper our efforts at democratic consolidation, regional cohesion and integration.He further underscored the contributions of the Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS, towards the entrenchment of democracy in the region, stating the impact of its 2023 International Conference with the theme 'ECOWAS Zero Tolerance for Unconstitutional Change of Government'.In conclusion, Justice Asante informed parliamentarians of the Court's initiatives to increase access of Community citizens to the Court through its introduction of the Electronic Case Management System (ECMS) that allowed for the electronic filing of cases and the continuation of the hybrid court sessions, thereby reducing the cost of litigation for the benefit of lawyers and indigent citizens.He announced that the ECMS would be launched in September 2024, and the Court had conducted training exercises for the anglophone, francophone and lusophone lawyers in the Member States.He further noted that despite the Court' s remarkable strides, it was burdened with challenges such as non-enforcement of the Court's judgements as well as staffing and funding challenges.He urged the members of the ECOWAS Parliament to support the ECOWAS Court in rendering more effective judicial services to the Community.The opening ceremony of the session also featured remarks from the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, the Auditor General of ECOWAS, the Togolese Minister of Human Rights in charge of Relations with Institutions, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria who gave the opening address.Source: Ghana News Agency