Ghana set to ratify ECOWAS Court protocols
Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Ghana has begun the process of ratifying all Protocols related to the ECOWAS Court in order to facilitate the enforcement of the decisions of the Court, the country’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Ghana, Godfred Dame Yeboah, has said.
The Minister told the President of the Court, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, who was in Ghana as part of his periodic visit to Member States, that Ghana was determined through the impending ratification, to remove all obstacles to the enforcement of the decisions of the Court in the country.
The Minister and the visiting President of the Court used the opportunity to discuss Ghana’s commitment to the promotion of the Court in the areas of the enforcement of its decisions and ratification of related texts.
The Ministry was in October 2019 designated by President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, as the country’s focal point for the enforcement of the decisions of the Court.
Under Article 24 (4) of the 2005 Protocol on the Court, Member States are required to determine the competent national authority for the enforcement of the decisions of the Court.
The President also met with the Chief Justice of Ghana, His Lordship Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, during which they discussed the issue of cooperation between the Community Court and national courts as well as the appointment of judges of the ECOWAS Court and the role of the Chief Justices of Member States in the process.
During the five-day visit, Justice Asante also interacted with other stakeholders, including the authorities of law schools where he stressed the importance of incorporating ECOWAS Law in their academic curricula.
He assured them that the Court is looking at the possibility of reviving its moot court competitions among law students in West Africa.
He emphasized the ‘critical importance’ of this competition in ensuring that law students are ‘sufficiently exposed’ to Community Legal Texts and the Court’s role in promoting human rights and good governance within the Community.
The institutions visited during the 29th March to 2nd April 2021 visit were Ghana School of Law, Ghana Institute of Management and Professional Administration (GIMPA), the School of Law and the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), School of Law all in Accra.
-0- PANA VAO 3May2021
