The Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS, will conduct a sensitisation outreach and external court session in Lagos State, Nigeria, from 5 – 7 May 2025 and 8 – 16 May 2025, respectively.
Sensitization outreaches and external court sessions are annual activities of the Court intended to create awareness about its mandate, jurisdiction, and operations. They are also aimed at promoting cooperation between the ECOWAS Court and the national courts of Member States and bringing the Court closer to community citizens at the grassroots level.
The sensitisation Outreach programme in Lagos will hold from 5 – 7 May 2025 at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. Highlights of the programme include an opening ceremony attended by top government officials, judges, lawyers, law students, representatives of civil society organisations, NGOS and the public. The three-day event will feature presentations on various topics, including the mandate and jurisdiction of the Court, filing of cases before the Court, rights of women and children, the relationship between ECOWAS Court and national courts, and the new ECOWAS Electronic Case Management System (ECMS). The programme will be rounded off with a panel discussion on the role of government and non-governmental organisations in promoting and protecting human rights before the ECOWAS Court, followed by a press conference.
The External Court Session will commence on Thursday, 8 May and end on Friday, 16 May 2025 at the High Court of Lagos, Osborne Annexe, Ikoyi, Lagos. During the sessions, different panels of the Court will hear 35 cases, and 15 judgments will be delivered. The five current honourable judges of the Court participating in both activities are Honourable Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves (President), Honourable Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma (Vice President), Honourable Justice Dupe Atoki (Member), Honourable Justice Gberi-bè Ouattara (Member) and Honourable Justice Edward Amoako Asante (Member).
The scheduling of External Court Session outside the Seat of the Court is as follows Article 26(2) of the Protocol of the Court, which states: “where circumstances or facts of the case so demand, the Court may decide to sit in the territory of another Member State.” By an Order dated 3rd March 2025, Honourable President of the Court, Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves, authorised the holding of an External Court session in Lagos State, Nigeria.
Courtesy visits to the top government officials of the host state, Lagos, Nigeria, and other major stakeholders preceded the two-week programme.
The primary mandate of the Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS, is the interpretation and application of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty and other ECOWAS Community Texts. However, following the adoption of the Supplementary Protocol A/SP.1/01/05 relating to the Court in January 2005, the Court has recorded a remarkable increase in its judicial activities. This can be attributed to granting direct access to the Court to Community citizens in respect of certain causes of action, including human rights violations.
Previous sensitization and external court sessions have been held in Member States including Senegal, Ghana, Togo, Liberia, The Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Benin and some Nigerian federating states such as Oyo and Kwara.
