The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has commenced consultations on the proposed establishment of an Appeal Division, a reform that could significantly change the court’s current judicial structure.
At present, judgments of the ECOWAS Court are final and are not subject to ordinary appeal. The proposed Appeal Division would therefore introduce a new layer of judicial review within the regional court system.
President of the ECOWAS Court, Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves, disclosed the development at the Court’s 2026 Annual International Conference in Dakar, Senegal, where the regional judicial institution is marking 25 years of operation.
Gonçalves said the Court had reached a critical stage in its development and must confront challenges ranging from enforcement of judgments and human-rights protection to innovation, governance and regional integration.
He said the planned Appeal Division forms part of an ongoing institutional transformation aimed at improving the Court’s effectiveness, accessibility and responsiveness. According to the Court President, consultations among Community stakeholders are already underway on the proposal, which he said could strengthen judicial guarantees, improve the administration of justice and increase confidence in the Court’s procedures and decisions.
The proposal would represent a significant development in the ECOWAS judicial system. Under the Court’s existing framework, its decisions are final, immediately enforceable and not subject to appeal, although limited post-judgment applications may be brought in circumstances including revision, rectification, omission in a judgment or setting aside a default judgment.
The idea of creating an appellate structure is, however, not entirely new. The ECOWAS Court states that as far back as June 2006, the ECOWAS Council of Ministers recognised the need for an appellate chamber following requests from litigants. An Appeals, Arbitration and Enforcement Division was subsequently created within the Court’s Registry in 2018, with its Appeals Section intended to prepare for the eventual establishment of an appellate chamber.
The latest announcement therefore indicates renewed movement towards translating that longstanding proposal into an operational judicial structure.
Gonçalves also highlighted the adoption of the Court’s Arbitration Rules as another element of its reform programme. The rules, adopted in December 2025, are intended to expand opportunities for peaceful and efficient resolution of disputes involving states, institutions, investors and private actors.
Another major issue confronting the Court, according to participants at the Dakar conference, is the enforcement of its judgments by ECOWAS member states.
Representing the President of the ECOWAS Commission, General Birame Diop, the Commission’s Director of Legal Affairs, Gaye Sowe, said the gap between decisions handed down by the Court and their actual execution remained a major challenge to the effectiveness of regional justice.
Diop assumed office as President of the ECOWAS Commission on August 31, succeeding Dr Omar Alieu Touray, while Sowe currently heads the Commission’s Legal Affairs Directorate.
The Commission said it would continue engaging member states to improve compliance with and enforcement of judgments.
Under Article 15(4) of the Revised ECOWAS Treaty, judgments of the Court are binding on member states, Community institutions, individuals and corporate bodies. Execution is principally carried out through national systems, with member states expected to designate competent national authorities responsible for receiving and processing writs of execution.
The Court has repeatedly identified weak enforcement as a major institutional problem. Earlier in 2026, Gonçalves stressed during engagement with national authorities that delivering a judgment was not sufficient unless the decision was ultimately implemented.
At the Dakar conference, President of Senegal’s Supreme Court, Justice Mouhamadou Mbaye, and the country’s Minister of Justice, Moussa Sarr, also called for stronger judicial cooperation among West African states and a more effective Community justice system.
Keynote speaker Professor Kofi Abotsi similarly urged governments, lawyers and civil-society organisations to defend judicial independence and strengthen the institutions responsible for regional justice.
The five-day conference, running from September 21 to 25, is themed “The Community Court of Justice ECOWAS at the Crossroads: Justice, Innovation, Protection of Human Rights and the Future of Regional Integration in West Africa.” It brings together judicial officers, government representatives, academics, legal practitioners, civil-society organisations, development partners and other stakeholders.
The Court was established as the principal judicial organ of ECOWAS, with responsibility for interpreting and applying Community law. Its jurisdiction has subsequently expanded to cover human-rights cases, administrative disputes involving ECOWAS institutions, arbitration and inter-state disputes.
Gonçalves said the Court’s 25th anniversary should therefore serve not merely as a celebration of its history but as an opportunity to develop practical reforms capable of strengthening access to justice, human-rights protection and regional integration.
