A delegation from the Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS, led by the Honourable President, Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves will be in the Republic of Liberia for an outreach programme and legal clinic from the 10th - 16th November, 2025. The sensitisation activities are intended to create awareness about the Court, its role, mandate, jurisdiction, access to the Court among other vital information. It is therefore an avenue for increasing visibility of the Court, which belongs to the Community citizens who need to take ownership by being aware of its activities.
The people will also be enlightened on the jurisprudence (decisions) of the Court and its impact on them and the sub-region. This year’s series of outreach programmes and legal clinics form part of the celebrations marking 50 years of ECOWAS. There will be presentations, discussions, interviews and other interactive sessions that allow for engagement with stakeholders. The legal clinic provides a platform for direct interaction with citizens from different communities who seek information about the Court, how to access it or legal advice.
The outreach activities are open to ECOWAS member states, honourable judges, government officials, diplomatic corps, lawyers, academics, civil society organisations, human rights advocates, law students, partners, the media and other interest groups and stakeholders. The week-long programme will commence with courtesy call on His Excellency, Joseph Nyuma Boakai, President of the Republic of Liberia and other top government officials. This will be followed by a town hall meeting with various stakeholders at the Ministerial Complex on 12th November 2025.
A special forum for lawyers and law students will be held on the 13th of November 2025 at the Auditorium of the University of Liberia. Other activities include a Judicial dialogue for honourable judges of the judiciary of Liberia and those of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, while the Legal Clinic which is open to members of the public will commence on the 14th of November at 3pm and conclude on 15th November 2025 at the Ministerial Complex. There will also be a press conference and media appearances to sensitise the Community citizens. Similar outreach programmes have been held in other Member States including Benin, Ghana, Togo, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, and some cities in Nigeria including Ibadan and Lagos.
A delegation from the Court will be in Lome, Togo from 16th -22nd November 2025 for the same outreach programme and legal clinic. The scheduling of outreach programmes in the territory of any Member State, is an annual activity of the Court. The Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS was created pursuant to Article 6 and 15 of the Revised Treaty. The Protocol relating to the Court was adopted in 1991, but the pioneer Judges were appointed in 2001. Basically, the Court has four distinct mandates: as a Community Court with the primary responsibility of interpreting and applying the ECOWAS Revised Treaty and other Community Texts; as an Administrative Tribunal for ECOWAS public officials; as an Arbitration Tribunal; and as a Human Rights Court.
