NewzThe Dean of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) Law School, Prof Ernest Kofi Abotsi, has called for reforms to make the ECOWAS Court of Justice more accessible and responsive to the everyday rights concerns of citizens across West Africa. He said the Court must move beyond its traditional judicial role and find innovative ways to connect with people whose lives are increasingly shaped by cross-border trade, migration, technology, environmental challenges and regional economic integration. Speaking at the 2026 ECOWAS Court of Justice International Conference in Dakar, Senegal, Prof Abotsi said the Court was at a critical point in its development as West Africa grappled with challenges to democracy, human rights and regional integration.
The five-day conference, which runs from September 21 to 25, is being held under the theme, “ECOWAS Court of Justice at the Crossroads: Justice, Innovation, Human Rights Protection and the Future of Regional Integration in West Africa.” Bringing justice closer to citizens Prof Abotsi said the Court remained distant from many ordinary West Africans and should explore new ways of making regional justice more visible, understandable and accessible. He identified traders, journalists, students, farmers and entrepreneurs among those who could require regional judicial protection in their dealings with state institutions. “Justice cannot exist in vacuo but must be visible, context dependent and understandable, and reachable,” he said.
He proposed that the Court consider elements of the Indian Supreme Court’s epistolary jurisdiction, under which letters, telegrams or emails can trigger consideration of alleged human rights violations. Prof Abotsi said appropriate screening mechanisms could be introduced to prevent frivolous or vexatious claims from overwhelming the Court. He also suggested that the Court could draw lessons from inquisitorial systems, where judges take a more active role in gathering and examining evidence.
Preparing for emerging rights challenges Prof Abotsi said the Court must also anticipate a new generation of rights challenges emerging from technological and environmental change. He identified digital surveillance, cyber governance, climate displacement, environmental degradation, algorithmic discrimination, misinformation, technology-driven electoral manipulation and transnational corporate acc… Prof Abotsi said the enforcement of the Court’s orders remained one of its most difficult challenges, particularly because ECOWAS member states must reconcile their national interests and political considerations with accountability to a supranational judicial institution.
He made the remarks in a keynote address at the 2026 ECOWAS Court of Justice International Conference in Dakar, Senegal, being held from 21 to 25 September under the theme, “ECOWAS Court of Justice at the Crossroads: Justice, Innovation, Human Rights Protection and the Future of Regional Integration in West Africa.” “The enforcement of the Court’s orders remains thorny and in the circumstances intractable,” Prof Abotsi said, arguing that the difficulty of negotiating accountability to a supranational court by member states affected the Court’s work in a distinctive way. He said regional courts could become particularly vulnerable when their decisions began to have significant consequences for governments. “In a rather counterintuitive way, regional courts often become vulnerable precisely when they start looking effective and powerful,” he said.
According to him, the stronger the Court’s human rights jurisprudence becomes, the greater the possibility of resistance from states whose actions or policies are challenged by its decisions. “The more impactful their human rights jurisprudence becomes, the more likely they are to encounter state discomfort and generate resistance to their work,” he said. He added that judicial decisions criticising member states, whether arising from complaints brought by governments or individuals, could expose regional courts to political pressure.
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