Senior Advocate of Nigeria and human rights lawyer Femi Falana has urged the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to establish an appellate division for the ECOWAS Court of Justice, arguing that the absence of an appeal process has led to conflicting judgments, weakened confidence in the court, and reduced compliance with its rulings by member states.
In a letter addressed to the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, Falana said the regional court should no longer operate as a single-chamber institution without a mechanism to review its decisions.
He recalled that the ECOWAS Court of Justice was created under Article 15 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty and that its jurisdiction was expanded in 2005 to allow individuals and corporate bodies to directly file human rights cases without first exhausting local legal remedies.
Falana noted that although the court’s judgments are final and binding, litigants currently have no opportunity to challenge legal or procedural errors because there is no appellate system. According to him, this has raised concerns among member states and has contributed to poor enforcement of some of the court’s decisions.
He also referenced comments by Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who has similarly advocated the creation of an appellate division to strengthen fairness, transparency, and access to justice within the regional court.
To support his position, Falana pointed to what he described as inconsistent rulings by the ECOWAS Court on several legal issues. These include decisions on public interest litigation, limitation periods for human rights cases, interpretations of Nigeria’s Cybercrime Act, and judgments involving the removal of judicial officers in different member states.
According to Falana, the conflicting decisions demonstrate the urgent need for a higher judicial body that can review judgments and promote consistency in the court’s jurisprudence.
He further reminded the ECOWAS Commission that the Council of Ministers had already approved the establishment of an appellate division during its 35th Ordinary Session held in Abuja in June 2005, urging the Commission to implement the decision without further delay.
Falana maintained that creating an appellate chamber would strengthen the credibility of the ECOWAS Court, improve judicial accountability, and restore the confidence of member states and citizens in the regional justice system.
