Ghana Magistrates and lawyers schooled on ECOWAS Court
A three-day training seminar on the Practice, Jurisdiction, Procedure, and Jurisprudence of the Community Court of Justice, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has been organised for judges and lawyers in Ghana.
Justice Micah Wilkins Wright, the Vice President of ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, said the seminar was an outreach programme of the court designed to create awareness and enlightenment on its establishment, existence and operations as a forum of rescue and refuge for the ordinary people of member stat
He said: ‘This seminar is engaging the legal community of Ghana with a view to providing you with the enlightenment that will in turn enable you to provide proper and adequate guidance and legal support to your clients or persons appearing before your courts or persons requiring legal assistance.”
Justice Wright said the court was seen as a refuge to bring the desired reliefs being sought by citizens, especially when they could not get appropriate redress and justice in domestic courts of their home countries.
He said citizens also needed to know that the complains had to be against a member state of ECOWAS or an institution of the community and that it was not a proper forum to hear suits against other individuals who may be responsible for acts of violations of the human rights of other citizens.
“Our court does not exercise jurisdiction over individuals as defendants,” he said.
He said the court was established as part of the integration process of ECOWAS in line with its vision 2020, thus moving away from a community of states to a community of people.
Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, in a goodwill message, pledged the co-operation of Ghana for the stabilisation and strengthening of the Community Court to enable it to achieve its objectives.
She said Ghana, as one of the member states, was committed to ensuring the observance of law, the principles of equity, the interpretation and application of the provisions of the Revised Treaty and all other subsidiary legal instruments adopted by member states.
Mr Kwasi Prempeh-Eck, the Director of the Ghana School of Law, urged the participants to implement what they had learnt to advocate justice for the people.
Source: GNA