ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATE (ECOWAS) AND THE CHALLENGE OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

It is no longer news that the African continent has witnessed challenges in respect to regional development and economic integration. While the idea of regional development is as old as the Organization of African Unity now renamed as African Union, recent summits have reaffirmed Africa’s commitment toward boosting intra-Africa trade and development. The study also explore the role of community court of justice in enhancing regional development, considering that deeper regional integration –the aim of ECOWAS – required a judicial body to resolve disputes and interpret legal rules. Since then, the ECCJ has gone on to establish itself as a major player in the ECOWAS agenda, particularly as an increasingly vibrant, active and bold international adjudicator in the field of human rights. In view of the challenges and achievements of the ECCJ since inception, this study looks to the role of the Court in the near future, and how best the Court might be prepared to effectively and efficiently execute its mandate, especially as it relates to its human rights jurisdiction, and surmount potential challenges in this regard and foster regional development as development can only come when there is respect for human right and absence of conflict. The overlapping multiple memberships of countries to the regional groupings has complicated the integration effort. The absence of clear rule on the relationship between the existing regional economic communities and the ‘to-be-formed’ African Economic community has also contributed to the uncertainty in the integration process.

 

CHAPTER ONE

                                        INTRODUCTION

• Background of the study

Countries wish to join their economies for various reasons, some of which include attraction of foreign investment, enhancing cooperation, fostering security and generally attaining economic development. With these aims in mind, governments sign and become members of multiple regional integration schemes. However, some of these integration schemes simply reflect the desire but not always the political will to capture the economic gains and international negotiating strength that regionalization can bring.8 Africa is not peculiar in this respect.[1] A number of initiatives have been launched in the continent to bring economic and political integration. These integration efforts have been undertaken concurrently at continental and regional levels. On the continental level, the effort of integration started with the adoption of the OAU Charter in 1963 which envisions initiatives to integrate the Africa region for the promotion of economic and social development.

The 1975 ECOWAS Treaty included a mandate for a Community Court of Justice (CCJ) to adjudicate disputes related to the interpretation and operation of the Treaty, as revised in 1993. The details for the operation of the Court were established by the 1991 Protocol on the Community Court of Justice signed by the ECOWAS High Contracting Parties. The Court became operational in December 2000. Seven judges sit on the Court, each serving a five-year term. No two judges can be nationals of the same state.[2] The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Court) is an increasingly active and bold adjudicator of human rights. Since acquiring jurisdiction over human rights complaints in 2005, the ECOWAS Court has issued numerous decisions condemning human rights violations by the member states of the Economic Community of West African States (Community).[3] Among this Court’s path-breaking cases are judgments against Niger for condoning modern forms of slavery and against Nigeria for impeding the right to free basic education for all children. The ECOWAS Court also has broad access and standing rules that permit individuals and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to bypass national courts and file suits directly with the Court. Although the Court is generally careful in the proof that it requires of complainants and in the remedies that it demands of governments, it has not shied away from politically courageous decisions, such as rulings against the Gambia for the torture of journalists and against Nigeria for failing to regulate multinational companies that have degraded the environment of the oil-rich Niger Delta. Our primary goal in this article is to explain how an international tribunal, initially established to help build a common market, was redeployed as a human rights court. In particular, we ask why West African governments, which set up the ECOWAS Court in a way that has allowed persistent flouting of Community economic rules, later delegated to ECOWAS judges remarkably far-reaching human rights jurisdiction. The ECOWAS Court’s transformation is surprising in many ways. By all accounts, ECOWAS has made little progress toward its professed goal of regional economic integration. Trade flows among West African nations remain extremely low; tariffs, customs regulations, nontariff barriers, and roadblocks hinder cross-border economic transactions;[4] and member states have yet to challenge barriers to intraregional trade before the ECOWAS Court. If our story ended here, with a new international court struggling for relevance, few would be surprised. However, our story takes a sharp and unexpected turn in 2005 with an expansion of the Court’s jurisdiction to include human rights complaints by private litigants.[5]

• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study focused on the economic community of West African state (ECOWAS) and the challenge of regional development with emphasis on the community court of justice. The establishment of the community court of justice has posed serious question, which this study intend to proffer answers to;

1. Can community court of justice ensure protection of human right by the government of member state
2. Is there any relationship between ECOWAS and regional development of member state

• Are there challenges limiting community court from exercising and enforcing judgment on member state found guilty under the law
  • OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The study has one main objective which is sub-divided into general and specific objective, the general objective is to examine economic community of West African state and the challenges of regional development. The specific objective is to ascertain how community court of justice has aided in ameliorating this challenges.

• RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

It is apparent that the economic community of West African state (ECOWAS) was created to foster growth, trade and economic development of member state.[6] However it is no news that the establishment of community court of justice was to aid the organization in achieving it objective and uphold justice equity and fairness. It is in view of this that the following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher to aid the completion of the study:

H_o: There establishment of community court of justices does not promote the regional development of ECOWAS member state

H_o: There is no relationship between ECOWAS and regional development of member state

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is believed that at the completion of the study, the findings will be of great importance to the member state of economic community of West African state as the findings will help the in the effective implementation of the object clause of the organization. The study will also be of importance to the community court of justice as the findings will help them in confronting the challenges facing the organizations.[7] The study will also be of importance to researchers who intend to embark on a study in similar topic as the study will serve as a reference point to further research, the study will also be of importance to students, teachers, lecturers, academia’s and the general public as the study will contribute to the pool of existing literature on the subject matter and also add to knowledge.

• RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research methodology adopted for this research is doctrinal. That is, it is a library oriented research. By this research methodology, primary research materials will be sourced from treaties, protocols, conventions and other international legal instruments and case laws. Secondary research materials will be sourced from text books, journals, magazines and newspaper publications etc. This study is historical and library based as most of the articles and material for the study were sourced from library and other secondary sources. Therefore the sources of data of the study is secondary data. It is apparent the ECOWAS has recorded massive improvement on the achievement of her objective amongst member state since the inception of community court of justice. The study is based the assumption that all ECOWAS member state are committed to the regional development of every member state, the study also assumes that the establishment of community court of justices will foster peace among member state From these documents, critical analysis would be made with a view to accomplishing the aims and objectives of the study.

• SCOPE OF AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study covers economic community of West African state and the challenges of regional development with emphasis on the community court of justices. The study explore the role of ECOWAS on regional development and examine the role of community court of justice in attaining the goal of regional development. But in the course of the study, there are some factors that limit the scope of the study;

AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study

TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.

FINANCE: The finance available for the research work does not allow for wider coverage as resources are very limited as the researcher has other academic bills to cover.

1.9 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows

Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), statement of problem, objectives of the study, research question, significance or the study, research methodology, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlight the theoretical framework on which the study its based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.

 

 

[1] (Olayiwola and Osabuohien, 2012)

 

[2] The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice has accepted the submission of individual complaints for human rights violations since 2005

[3] Fifteen nations are currently members of ECOWAS: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Coˆte d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo

[4] S. K. B. Asante, Economic Community of West African States, in THE OXFORD COMPANION TO POLITICS OF THE WORLD 233, 234 ( Joe¨l Krieger ed., 2d ed. 2001).

[5] S. K. B. Asante, Economic Community of West African States, in THE OXFORD COMPANION TO POLITICS OF THE WORLD 233, 234 ( Joe¨l Krieger ed., 2d ed. 2001).

[6] Edet Sedeke E 2021 unpublished research material on ECOWAS and regional development

[7] Edet Sedeke E 2021 unpublished research material on ECOWAS and regional development

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