Federation of African Journalists, Camara, Jaw Manneh, Jobe and Fatty v. Republic of Gambia

2021 ◽  
Vol 194 ◽  
pp. 29-65
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Public Information ◽  
West African ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Community Court ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Human Rights Treaties

29Human rights — Freedom of expression — Free speech — Journalists — Restriction of access to public information — Criminalization of defamation, sedition and insult — Torture and inhuman or degrading treatment — Unlawful and arbitrary detention — Living in exile — Whether Gambian laws violating rights of journalistsTreaties — Human rights treaties — Treaty obligations — Obligations under regional and international human rights treaties — Compliance of arrest and detention with treaty obligations — Compliance of Gambia’s libel, sedition and false news publication laws with its treaty obligations — African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 1981 — Revised Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States, 1993 — International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 — Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948International tribunals — Jurisdiction — Community Court of Justice of Economic Community of West African States — Non-applicability of exhaustion of domestic remedies — Statute of limitations — Interpretation of Article 9(3) Supplementary Protocol, 2005 — Whether statute of limitations applicable — Whether Community Court of Justice decisions affirming statutory limitation to be overruled — Whether Court having jurisdiction

Can the Economic Community of West African States Community Court of Justice Enforce the African Charter Replicas of the Non-Justiciable Chapter II Human Rights Provisions of the Nigerian Constitution against Nigeria?

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amos O. Enabulele ◽  
Anthony Osaro Ewere
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Federal Republic ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
West African ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
Community Court ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Education Commission ◽  
African Charter

This article highlights a major source of tension between the Supplementary Protocol of the Economic Community of West Africa States Community Court of Justice (ECOWAS CCJ) and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (CFRN), in relation to the enforcement of economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights against Nigeria, as manifested in a recent decision of the ECOWAS CCJ in Registered Trustees of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) v Federal Republic of Nigeria and Universal Basic Education Commission. The focus of this article on the tension is both from the perspective of Nigerian law and of the ECOWAS CCJ. It argues that while the CFRN cannot deprive the ECOWAS CCJ of the jurisdiction expressly given to it by its Protocols, the CFRN does have implications for the enforcement of any decision of the ECOWAS CCJ that offends its provisions within the CFRN sphere of superiority.

Reflections on the ECOWAS Community Court Protocol and the Constitutions of Member States

2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-137
Author(s):  
A.O. Enabulele
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Legal System ◽  
West African ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Community Court ◽  
National Courts ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Human Rights Violation ◽  
Community Legal Order

AbstractOnly recently, the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States, which was hitherto opened only to Community States, was expanded to allow direct human rights violation claims by individuals. Though the court has since started to function, its impact is yet to be felt ‐ citizens of recalcitrant Community States still live in wanton violation of their rights in most of the States, where national courts are weak and effective remedies for rights violations largely nonexistent. This is consequent upon the failure of Community States to align their national laws with the new legal order represented by the Community Court; national laws and indeed national courts are still very hostile to the court and its judgements, thereby discouraging citizens from attending the court. This Article takes a look at the relevant provisions of the constitutions of Community States and advocates an urgent need for the cooperation to be forged between national legal systems and the community legal system through the amendment of hostile laws, as a prerequisite to the achievement of the virile community legal order.

scholarly journals A New International Human Rights Court for West Africa: The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice

2013 ◽  
Vol 107 (4) ◽  
pp. 737-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen J. Alter ◽  
Laurence Helfer ◽  
Jacqueline R. McAllister
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Niger Delta ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
West African ◽  
Education For All ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Community Court ◽  
National Courts ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
The Right

The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Court) is an increasingly active and bold adjudicator of human rights. Since acquiring jurisdiction over human rights complaints in 2005, theECOWASCourt has issued numerous decisions condemning human rights violations by the member states of the Economic Community of West African States (Community). Among this Court’s path-breaking cases are judgments against Niger for condoning modern forms of slavery and against Nigeria for impeding the right to free basic education for all children. TheECOWASCourt also has broad access and standing rules that permit individuals and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to bypass national courts and file suits directly with the Court. Although the Court is generally careful in the proof that it requires of complainants and in the remedies that it demands of governments, it has not shied away from politically courageous decisions, such as rulings against the Gambia for the torture of journalists and against Nigeria for failing to regulate multinational companies that have degraded the environment of the oil-rich Niger Delta.

Towards an Analyses of the Mega-Political Jurisprudence of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice

2020 ◽  
pp. 149-177
Author(s):  
Olabisi D. Akinkugbe
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Federal Republic ◽  
West African ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Community Court ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Traditional Scholarship ◽  
Political Disputes

This chapter fills the gap in the judicialization of mega-political disputes before the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice (ECOWAS Court). Judicialization of mega-political disputes in this Court has until now been understudied. Although the ECOWAS Court lacks an express mandate to adjudicate over political disputes, the Court has been innovative in assuming jurisdiction over mega-political disputes when these disputes are intertwined with actual or potential human rights violations. The Ugokwe doctrine, enunciated in the case of, Dr. Jerry Ugokwe v. The Federal Republic of Nigeria and Dr. Christian Okeke, established the “cause of action” for the judicialization of mega-political disputes before the ECOWAS Court. By examining cases that have largely remained obscure, the chapter uncovers the judicialization of political disputes, particularly of electoral cases, before the ECOWAS Court. Unlike the traditional scholarship that measures effectiveness based on compliance with the decisions of the courts, the chapter argues that the significance of the mega-political disputes judicialized before Africa’s regional courts derives from the instrumental objectives of the litigants. By incorporating the social, political, and economic contexts that gave rise to the francophone and anglophone cases analyzed, the chapter illuminates the judicialization of mega-political disputes in ways that are not wedded to the traditional analyses of the functions of regional economic courts.

scholarly journals Critical Issues in the Human Rights Mandate of the ECOWAS Court of Justice

2010 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solomon T Ebobrah
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
West Africa ◽  
West African ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Community Court ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
International Human ◽  
Human Rights Violation

AbstractA new opportunity for international human rights litigation in West Africa was presented in 2005 when the Economic Community of West African States adopted a protocol to empower its judicial organ, the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, to determine cases of human rights violation that occur in ECOWAS member states. Since then, several human rights claims have been brought before the court. However, critical questions concerning the legality of the new mandate and the suitability of the court to exercise a human rights jurisdiction have lingered. Beginning with an inquiry into the foundation within ECOWAS for the exercise of a human rights jurisdiction, this article analyses the legitimacy of the human rights mandate of the ECOWAS court and interrogates crucial issues relevant to the effectiveness of the mandate. The article suggests ways to enhance execution of the mandate and concludes with a call for careful judicial navigation in the exercise of the court's expanded jurisdiction.

scholarly journals The Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States as a Constitutional Court

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kangnikoé Bado
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
West African ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
Member States ◽  
Constitutional Order ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Innovative Solutions

One of the major innovations made by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is the unequivocal granting of a supranational role to the Court of Justice of the organisation. However, its human rights mandate has led to real and potential tensions within the ECOWAS legal order. The tensions stem from the legal force of judgments of constitutional courts of member states and the admissibility of individual petitions before the Court. This work identifies some deficiencies in the current regime of the human rights mandate of the Court. Gaps exist at the level of the member states’ constitutional order, as well as at the community level. The supranational competence of the jurisdiction must be implemented by the possibility of ordering concrete measures to be taken by states for the reparation of human rights violations. Innovative solutions are suggested in this work in order to fill procedural and substantial gaps in the protection system established in West Africa.

SOURCES OF THE LAW OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES (ECOWAS)

2001 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunday Babalola Ajulo
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Economic Integration ◽  
West African ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Member States ◽  
Community Court ◽  
Legal Problems ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
The Law

Articles 6(e) and 15(1–4) of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty (1993) provide for the establishment of a Court of Justice of the Community. These provisions should, however, be read along with those of the Protocol on the Community Court of Justice initialled in 1991. Attempts have been made to analyse various aspects of the institutions of the Community, including the Court of Justice. While Bankole Thompson examined the legal problems of the economic integration in West Africa, Kofi Oteng Kufuor attempted to look at the Court of Justice from the angle of compliance with its judgments by member states. Denakin, for his part, appraised generally the prospects of the Court.

Women Against Violence and Exploitation in Society (WAVES) and the Child Welfare Society Sierra Leone v. Sierra Leone

2021 ◽  
Vol 194 ◽  
pp. 66-91
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
West African ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Governmental Organization ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
African Charter

66Human rights — Treaties — Right to education — Right to equality and non-discrimination — Ban in Sierra Leone preventing pregnant girls from accessing mainstream schools — Whether violating international human rights obligations applicable to Sierra Leone — African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 1981 — African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, 1990 — Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, 2003 — United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s Convention Against Discrimination in Education, 1960 — United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 — Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1979 — International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966 — Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 — Revised Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States, 1993International tribunals — Jurisdiction — Locus standi — Whether non-governmental organization having capacity to sue on behalf of pregnant adolescent schoolgirls — Public interest — Whether criteria for public interest litigation met — Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African StatesState responsibility — Attribution — Acts of public officials — Minister of Education in Sierra Leone issuing statement — Statement preventing pregnant girls from accessing mainstream schools — Whether statement attributable to Sierra Leone — Whether violating Sierra Leone’s international legal obligations

Preventing the Police State

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah St. Vincent
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
The Right To Privacy ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Effective Remedy ◽  
Access To Data ◽  
The Right ◽  
Mass Surveillance

This chapter is intended as a basic reference guide for lawyers, legislators, and advocates approaching the issue of mass surveillance—or surveillance more generally—through the lens of international human rights law for the first time. It focuses on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the human rights treaties that apply in Europe and the Americas, with a particular emphasis on the rights to privacy, freedom of expression and opinion, and an effective remedy for violations. Although the exact parameters of the right to privacy are still being decided, it appears increasingly clear that state interferences with any kind of communications data will generally be subject to a standard of strict necessity applied on an individualized basis, and there is presently a trend toward finding that mass surveillance—including systematic state access to data held or transmitted by the private sector—violates the human rights treaties.

Giving Meaning and Effect to Human Rights

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald L Neuman
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Multiple Roles ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Civil And Political Rights

This chapter discusses the multiple roles played by the members of the Human Rights Committee in giving effect to the rights guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It argues that the most important contribution the members make to the human rights project consists in their credible, professional elaboration of those rights, particularly by means of the Committee’s Views and General Comments, as emphasized by the International Court of Justice in the Diallo case. While the Committee members should be open to learning from the insights of other treaty bodies, they should resist urgings toward a simplistic harmonization. The texts and interpretations of other ‘core’ human rights treaties must be used with care in the members’ independent exercise of their own interpretive function.

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