Judiciary
THE ECOWAS Court of Justice on Friday, July 2, 2021 ended its first non-judicial activity since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, which forced the Court to suspend such activities in compliance with the protocols for coping with the pandemic and deploy virtual technology in order to continue holding court sessions.
“Hopefully, this should constitute a milestone in the effort to restore the non-judicial activities of the Court, which was significantly affected by the pandemic mainly its stakeholder engagements, including sensitization, international conferences and external court sessions,” the President of the Court, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, said at the opening of the activity, its annual administration and budget retreat.
The five-day retreat, the 13th in the series enabled the Judges, directors and strategic level staff to review issues related to the administration and finance of the Court during the year 2021 and prospects for the future, particularly as the 15-member Community struggles to cope with a Covid-19 induced liquidity squeeze imposed on Member States, which has impacted their financial contributions to the Community.
The participants also reviewed staff welfare issues such as recruitment, promotions, administration, equipment and other issues that impact on the productivity of staff with proposals to address identified gaps in order to improve the effectiveness of the Court in delivering on its mandate.
They also approved the provisional draft budget of the Court for 2022, which includes provisions for coping with the financial cost of relocating to its new office building, which was provided by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in order to enable the court overcome its desperate need for spacious office accommodation.
The Vice President of the Court, Justice Gberi-be Quattara declared the event closed and used the opportunity to thank the participants for the high quality of work done in order to enhance the performance of the Court, noting that the outcome provides the background for the implementation of the 2022 budget.
– July 3, 2021 @ 16: 14 GMT |
Tags: Court ends its first non-judicial activities since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic
