Abstract :
A 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.
