Frequently Asked Questions
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What are the extra-judicial activities of the Court?
i. International conference;
ii. Sensitization programmes and campaigns
iii. Live TV and Radio Programmes
iv. Judicial and Judges retreats
v. Peer-to-peer visits to other regional and international courts.
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What are the mandates of the Court?
The Court has four mandates as follows:
i. It is a Community court to facilitate the integration process through the interpretation and application of the Treaty, conventions, protocols, regulations, directives and decisions of ECOWAS and provide advisory opinions at the request of the Authority, Council of Ministers, one or more Member States, President of the Commission and institutions of the Community.
ii. It is an administrative tribunal for ECOWAS public servants.
iii. It is a human rights Court – Article 9(4) of the Supplementary Protocol.
iv. It is an arbitration tribunal – Article 9(5) of the Supplementary Protocol
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Who are the current Judges of the Court and their nationalities?
i. Hon. Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves (Cape Verde) – President
ii. Hon. Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma (Sierra Leone) – Vice-President
iii. Hon Justice Edward Amoako Asante (Ghana)
iv. Hon Justice Gberi-Be Ouattara (Cote d’Ivoire)
v. Hon Justice Dupe Atoki (Nigeria)
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What is the full meaning of ECOWAS?
Economic Community of West African States
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How many member states of ECOWAS are there?
The Countries are as follows: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo.
In total there are fifteen (15) member states of ECOWAS comprising two (2) lusophone countries; five (5) Anglophone countries and eight (8) francophone countries.
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What are the objectives of ECOWAS?
This is found under Article 3 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty- it is to promote cooperation and integration, leading to the establishment of an economic union in Africa in order to raise the standard of living of its peoples and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations among member states and contribute to the development and progress of the African continent.
