Justice Edward Amoako Asante, who oversaw landmark developments in the ECOWAS Court as its President since 2018 has ended his six-year tenure at the helm of the institution.
During his tenure as President, the Community Court of Justice witnessed remarkable growth and transformation in its jurisprudence, including its case management system and physical infrastructure.
Justice Asante oversaw the historic relocation of the Court from its former overcrowded location to its new headquarters complex in Abuja in 2023.
He led innovations in the ECOWAS Court of Justice processes with the introduction of the electronic case management system and the consequential amendment of the Court’s practice direction which has now enabled seamless virtual and physical court sessions thereby considerably easing access to the community court by applicants in ECOWAS Member States.
This has reduced the financial burden on applicants as applications can be filed, cases heard, and judgments delivered virtually.
Justice Asante led the development of the judgment template for the Court; standardization of the judgments of the court, the legal research methodology and the subject matter index for the court for the period 2004 -2022.
During the six years of the Asante Presidency, there was an exponential increase in the case load of the court and its landmark judgments on human rights violations in Member States which have earned it international accolades and enriched human rights jurisprudence in the region.
Under his leadership, the Court won the Global Freedom of Expression Award of the New York based Columbia University in March 2022 for being a pacesetter among Africa’s Regional Courts in the area of human rights adjudication. In the same year, Justice Asante was honoured by the African Bar Association for his contribution to leadership, peace and community development for his ‘groundbreaking commitment to human capital development and support for projects in empowering young leaders in Africa.’
He also provided the leadership for the resolution of the perennial capacity gaps in the Court’s language service staff which previously slowed down its work and, in the process, transformed the unit into the most resourced within the Community enabling it to become a source of support for sister institutions. The outgoing President also successfully filled most of the vacancies in the Court’s organogram with the recruitment of experienced lawyers into the Registry and Research Departments.
Justice Asante was first elected as President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice by his colleague Judges of the court in 2018 and was re-elected for another two years in 2020. His presidency was extended for two more years in 2022 following the extension of his four-year tenure, along with two others, as a judge of the Court by the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Community.
As his tenure comes to an end, Justice Asante described it as ‘a worthwhile experience and a privilege to serve the Community which enabled me to gain valuable insight into the ECOWAS integration process,” and “further understand the value of the respect for the extant instruments of the Community, including its commitment to respect for human rights, accountability and transparency.”
The former President says having been President for six years, it was only proper to step down for another judge to lead the 23-year-old regional institution.
He wished his successor, Justice Claudio Monteiro Goncalves from Cape Verde, who is one of the last two judges appointed into the Court in 2022 a successful tenure in office and promised to put his rich experience in the management of the Court at the disposal of his successor.
Justice Asante, who has been recommended for Ghana’s Supreme Court, remains a judge of the Community Court of Justice until the end of his extended tenure in 2026.
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