ECOWAS Court Engages Media to Boost Judgment Enforcement

The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice is addressing the enforcement gap of its judgments by engaging journalists from ECOWAS Member States. At a three-day training workshop in Abuja, President Hon. Justice Ricardo Claudio Monteiro Gonçalves urged journalists to utilize their platforms to hold member states accountable for implementing court decisions.

He noted that the enforcement of judgments relies on national authorities, with compliance levels falling short of expectations. The Court's enforcement mechanism, as outlined in Article 24 of its Supplementary Protocol, requires a writ of execution submitted by the Chief Registrar to the relevant member state, which then follows domestic civil procedure rules.

The Court has identified the need for stronger coordination with national institutions to improve compliance, having held bilateral discussions with authorities in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria in 2026. Gonçalves pointed out that limited public understanding of the Court's mandate is partly due to insufficient media coverage.