The 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 accountability as issues likely to increasingly come before the Court.

“These questions are no longer theoretical but represent lived realities of people within ECOWAS and are waiting to come before the Court,” he said.

He therefore urged the Court to embrace technology not simply to digitise its processes but to improve access, public engagement and legal research.

He called for wider broadcasting of proceedings, broader publication of decisions and greater use of platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, X, Snapchat and Facebook to engage younger generations.

Prof Abotsi welcomed the Court’s move towards digital filing and virtual hearings and proposed further investment in AI-assisted legal research, interoperable judicial databases and public legal education platforms.

The Court launched its Electronic Case Management System in June 2026 as part of its digital transformation agenda.

He cautioned, however, that technological innovation should remain human-centred.

“Artificial intelligence may improve efficiency, but it surely cannot replace judicial wisdom,” he said, stressing that digital systems could not substitute for empathy, fairness and contextual understanding.

Enforcement remains critical

While advocating greater accessibility and innovation, Prof Abotsi said the Court’s relevance would ultimately depend on whether its decisions were respected and implemented.

He identified compliance with judgments as one of the Court’s major challenges, alongside the withdrawal of some Sahelian countries from ECOWAS and funding constraints.

He warned that judgments that were not implemented risked becoming “moral declarations rather than effective legal remedies”.

He also stressed the importance of judicial independence, particularly in cases involving human rights and the rule of law.

“The true measure of commitment to regionalism lies not in celebrating judgments with which states agree, but in respecting judgments that states may find inconvenient,” he said.

Justice and regional integration

Prof Abotsi argued that the Court should be viewed not as a separate legal institution but as a central pillar of West Africa’s integration project.

He said sustainable integration required predictable legal norms, enforceable obligations, effective dispute resolution and public confidence in regional institutions.

“Justice is not separate from integration but constitutes the very infrastructure and constitutional core of the regional integration project,” he said.

He linked effective regional justice to investment, development, peace and democratic stability, particularly as West Africa pursues deeper cooperation in areas such as cross-border investment, migration, regional economic governance and the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Prof Abotsi said strengthening the Court would require adequate funding, enhanced judicial capacity, closer cooperation with national courts, greater engagement with bar associations and universities, and stronger mechanisms for monitoring compliance with its judgments.

He said governments, lawyers, universities and civil society all had roles to play in ensuring that the Court remained relevant to citizens.

He also called for greater engagement with young people so that regional justice would be understood as part of their democratic inheritance rather than as an abstract institutional concept.

“Accordingly, a people that desire peace must invest in justice. An integration project that desires prosperity must protect rights, and a region that desires integration must strengthen institutions,” he said.