Court delegation in Niamey for African Bar Association Conference
A high powered delegation of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, led by the Vice president, Honorable Justice Gberi-be Ouattara, has arrived Niamey for the annual conference of the African Bar Association being hosted by the Republic of Niger.
During the conference, members of the delegation will deliver papers on various aspects of the Court. The Vice President’s paper will be an overview of the Court while the Chief Registrar, Mr Tony Anene-Maidoh will deliver a paper on the Prospects and challenges of the Court.
Three other papers will be delivered by the five member delegation on the Court’s Practice and Procedure; How to file cases before the Court and the Human Rights Mandate of the Court as well as the enforcement of its decisions.
They will be delivered by the other members of the delegation which include Mr Nketiah Apraku, Mr Fernand Kouassi and Mr Uche Nwoko.
The President of the Court, Honouable Justice Edward Amoako Asante said the participation of the delegation showed the desire of the Community Court to engage with the Association, a major stakeholder for the regional court, in order to leverage the opportunity to apprise members of the association of contemporary developments in the court.
He said the five-day conference, which opens on Monday, 4th October 2021, provides an opportunity for the court to dialogue with members of the association and its officials and discuss how they can collaborate in furthering the mandate of the court, particularly its human rights mandate.
Honorable Justice Asante explained that the participation of the delegation demonstrated the new desire of the ECOWAS Court to engage with such associations, including participation in conferences of the national bar association of ECOWAS Member States in order to acquaint their members with the peculiarities of the Court which will be beneficial to those who will appear before the Court.
“The Bar Associations are important stakeholders in the functioning of the Court and engaging them will be mutually beneficial and as it will further the interest of justice.” he added.