The newly appointed Judges of the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have pledged to uphold judicial independence, integrity and impartiality.
They also pledged to strengthen cooperation and ensure the timely and effective delivery and enforcement of justice.
The President of the Court, Justice Charlyne Brumskine, made the pledge on behalf of the Court at the opening of a five-day orientation programme for the newly appointed Judges.
The programme, held under the theme, “Becoming an ECOWAS Judge: Judicial Excellence, Institutional Integration and Effective Adjudication,” is designed to familiarise the Judges with the Court’s mandate and promote excellence in judicial administration.
Justice Brumskine stressed the importance of enforcing the Court’s judgments, noting that the Court would continue to engage ECOWAS Member States to ensure compliance with its decisions.
She said a judgment that was not implemented failed to deliver the justice it promised, underscoring the need for stronger cooperation between the Court and Member States to ensure effective enforcement.
The orientation programme is expected to strengthen the Judges’ understanding of the Court’s institutional framework and promote a shared commitment to judicial excellence, impartiality and effective adjudication.
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“Each of us comes to this Court with distinguished experience, acquired at the national benches, at the Bar or in public service”. Justice Brumskine said.
She called for an understanding of a distinct legal order of the Community instruments that define the mandate, and of the body of jurisprudence that the Court has built over more than two decades.
President of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice said “Ours is a regional Court whose jurisdiction cuts across Member States with different legal traditions, languages and judicial cultures. We are entrusted with the interpretation and application of Community law, the protection of human rights, and the settlement of disputes between the Community and its staff”.
Purpose
She said the purpose is to equip the Judges with the knowledge required to discharge judges’ functions efficiently and effectively.
According to her, the Orientation programme draws principally on the institutional knowledge and practical experience available from within, through a former Vice-President of the Court as well as officers of the Registry, Research and Documentation, and Administration and Finance Departments of the Court.
“That choice reflects a conviction that the most enduring knowledge of an institution resides in those who have served it, and that continuity Is best secured when that knowledge is transmitted from one generation of Judges to the next”. Justice Brumskine re-emphasised
She said that conviction carries particular weight today, for an entirely new College of Judges assumes office together, and the continuity of the 3 Court’s jurisprudence and practice depends on our drawing fully on that institutional memory.
“We will engage with practice and procedure, the role of the Judge Rapporteur, interlocutory practice, courtroom management and judicial deliberation, as well as with the Electronic Case Management System through hands-on sessions,” she stated.
In line with the theme of the Orientation programme, Justice Brumskine share three commitments which, in her view, should guide the Judges as they take up their duties: the first is independence and integrity the authority of this Court rests, ultimately, on the confidence that litigants, Member States and the for citizens of the Community place In the Court.
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Justice Brumskine said that “confidence is earned, case by case, through fairness, impartiality and integrity, and it can be lost by a single lapse. I trust that each of us will uphold the highest standards of independence, impartiality and personal conduct, both on and off the bench”.
President of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice said that the second is collegiality, a Court is not a collection of individual Judges; it is a single institution that speaks with one voice through its decisions. “Our strength lies in rigorous deliberation, mutual respect and a shared commitment to coherent and consistent jurisprudence”.
She said the Court should therefore work diligently to reduce delays, to make full use of our Electronic Case Management System, and to align our work with the priorities of the Court’s Strategic Plan 2026-2030.
On his part, the Acting Chief Registrar of the Court, Dr. Ousmane Diallo, said the Orientation programme is to facilitate the smooth integration of the newly appointed Judges and their Executive Assistants into the institutional and operational environment of the ECOWAS Court of Justice by providing an overview of the Court’s structures, working arrangements, professional support capacities and administrative procedures, thereby enabling the new College of Judges to define its vision, priorities and working methods.
Dr. Diallo also believed that orientation Programme is “intended to make available the institutional knowledge, professional expertise and operational support developed within the Court, enabling the new College of Judges to become fully acquainted with the resources at its disposal and to determine how best to deploy them in pursuit of its vision. Existing practices provide a foundation upon which future priorities and working methods may be built”.
The ultimate objective is to ensure that the Judges discharge their responsibilities in an environment supported by a competent, responsive and dedicated staff, working together in the service of justice and the mandate of the Court.
