Honourable President Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves has expressed his commitment to the implementation of the resolutions from the three-day Judicial Retreat of the ECOWAS Court of Justice that concluded on 27 November 2024 at Niger State, Nigeria.

President Gonçalves made the statement in his remarks during the closing ceremony of the Judicial Retreat. “Over the last three days, we discussed important issues and proposed recommendations which have been adopted for implementation,” he said.

He added that measures will be put in place to monitor the progress of the implementation process to ensure resolved issues are not brought for reconsideration at next year’s retreat.

He also said that status of implementation of the recommendations from past retreats would be evaluated and actions taken where necessary, to ensure smooth implementation for enhanced performance of the Court.

Participants including the judges, directors and staff examined and proposed recommendations on various sub-themes of the retreat including implementation of writ of execution in member states; standardising the rulings and orders made in open court; discrepancies between the common law and civil law practices on the format of interlocutory applications and motions.

They also discussed modalities and best practices for the translation of decisions of the court, and guidelines on collaboration between research and judges’ chambers.

In his vote of thanks, Honourable Vice-President of the Court, Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma commended the participants for their remarkable professionalism and teamwork. “The success of this retreat is a reflection of both teamwork and respect for the legal profession manifested in the respect for views of others. We have just started a journey towards setting standards for the Court that will make it operate optimally as a judicial institution,” he said.

The 2024 Judicial Retreat was held under the theme: “Judicial Case Management: Relation Between the Office of the Honourable President, Honourable Judges, Registry Department, and Legal Research & Documentation Department,” The judicial retreat is an important activity of the Court aimed at improving the Court’s efficiency and effectiveness as the principal legal organ of the ECOWAS Community.