The Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has attributed the inability of West African countries to tackle politically related crime to the absence of a regionally accepted court in the sub-region.
According to her, the challenge has forced some countries within the sub-region resort to other means of seeking justice.
The Chief Justice was speaking at a symposium dubbed West African International Justice-leadership, Challenges and Opportunities.
She held that “the era of ad hoc solutions should begin to become a thing of the past.”
“If we are to achieve the objectives of international criminal justice across the entire spectrum so as to be able to bridge gaps, I recommend that… we look at matters such as an institutional framework which will inspire confidence in the people to achieve speedy investigation across borders.
“When member states have a harmonized judicial and legal systems, fighting crime becomes a shared responsibility and easier to achieve results that when it left to individual member states.”
Right now, West Africa has the ECOWAS Court of Justice, which is the judicial organ of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
It has been charged with resolving disputes related to the Community’s treaty, protocols and conventions.
The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has the competence to hear individual complaints of alleged human rights violations.
Based on the provision of Article 9(5) of the Supplementary Protocol of the Court, the Court has been vested with the mandate to act as Arbitrator pending the establishment of the Arbitration Tribunal for the Community.
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By: Anass Seidu | citinewsroom.com | Ghana