ECOWAS Court of Justice gets 7 new Judges

The incoming judges are from Burkina Faso, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal.
The ECOWAS Judicial Council, comprising the Chief Justices of Member States, has approved the recommendations of its ad-hoc committee on the recruitment of seven new judges.
A statement issued on Saturday by the ECOWAS spokesperson, Sunny Ugoh, said that the new judges would replace those whose terms had expired at the Community Court of Justice.
The Council is charged with among other duties, the recruitment and discipline of the judges of the Court.
It said that the incoming judges, from Burkina Faso, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal would replace those from Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Cape Verde, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.
The statement confirmed that the judges were recommended by an eight-member ad hoc committee which screened the 350 judges who applied for the positions.
It said the recommendations would be presented to the Council of Ministers at their 13th extraordinary meeting on March 26, in Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire for ratification.
The court has the primary responsibility of interpreting the instruments of the Community.
It also hears cases of violation of human rights of community citizens irrespective of whether or not the complainant has exhausted national remedies.
(NAN)