‘Lack of ratification affecting enforcement of ECOWAS decisions’

Ghana is unable to effectively enforce decisions of the ECOWAS Court of Justice because the country has not ratified the protocol to enforce the decisions, the director in charge of civil prosecutions at the Office of the Attorney General has stated. 

As a result, ECOWAS Court judgments against the state, which were registered in Ghana's courts, often could not be executed due to the lack of ratification.

The Solicitor-General, Office of the Attorney-General, Helen Akpene Awo Ziwu, however, said the country had complied in a recent case where the ECOWAS Court ordered the state to provide certain relevant information to the applicants.

“The issue is that we have not ratified the protocol to enforce the decisions of the court, and so we have a judgment against the state, but unfortunately, they will register the judgment before the court of Ghana, but we always raise a lack of ratification as a defence,” Mrs Ziwu told journalists on the sidelines of a capacity-building workshop on the ECOWAS Court rules, practice and procedures for State Attorneys.

Currently, Ghana’s enforcement rate of the ECOWAS Court stands at 30 per cent. 

Workshop

The four-day workshop, which started yesterday, is being organised by the Office of the Attorney-General and the Ministry of Justice in collaboration with the ECOWAS Court of Justice (CCJ).

Chief State Attorneys, Principal State Attorneys and other state attorneys in the various subdivisions of the Civil Division of the Office of the Attorney-General who represent the government before the ECOWAS Court are taking part in the workshop.

Among the topics for the workshop are the written and oral procedure, lodgment of cases, preliminary legal objection, default judgment, and post-judgment applications, among others

Challenges

The Solicitor-General explained that when cases were filed against the country, the State Attorneys represented Ghana in such cases.

However, over the years, she said Ghana had had challenges in meeting the 30-day deadline for filing processes at the court, hence the workshop.

Upon completion, she said the participants were expected to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the ECOWAS Court's rules, procedures and practices, and to be equipped with practical skills to effectively represent the government in cases before the ECOWAS Court.

Objective

The Head of Legal Services and Research Division, Apraku Nketiah, explained that the objective of the workshop was to equip state attorneys with comprehensive knowledge of the ECOWAS Court's rules of procedure, practices, and case management techniques, strengthen the advocacy skills of state attorneys by providing practical insights into how to effectively represent Ghana in the Court.

The capacity building, he said, would also foster a deeper understanding of the ECOWAS legal framework to ensure Ghana's full compliance with its obligations under ECOWAS law and enhance the country's ability to defend its interests in legal matters.

Again, he said the workshop would promote collaboration among state attorneys to share experiences, strategies and best practices when engaging with the ECOWAS Court.