External session of the ECOWAS Court for 2021 begins on Tuesday in Abidjan

Eleven cases, mostly against ECOWAS Member States, have been listed for judgment by the Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS during its external court session which opens on Tuesday, 19^th October 2021.

The President of the Court, Honorable Justice Edward Amoako Asante, said that the session, the first by the present college of judges since their assumption of duty in 2018, will also hear 40 other cases either virtually or physically.

The president explained that while court sessions are normally held at the seat of the court in Abuja, Article 26 (1) of the Protocol on the Court empowers it to sit in the territory of another Member State as dictated by the circumstances or facts of the case.

He said that such sessions enables the Court to bring justice closer to the grassroots for the benefit of indigent citizens who could otherwise not afford the attendant cost of litigation in the seat of the court.

It will also provide an opportunity for citizens to observe the court in session, sensitize the public and engage with its stakeholders.

Justice Asante said that the opening and closing ceremonies of the two – week session will be the first in the history of the court to be livestreamed since the Court began such sessions in 2007 in Bamako, Mali.

“Obviously evidence that the Court is making some progress in deploying technology towards reaching out to more of the region’s citizens,’ the President added.