By John Okeke
The Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament ,Mr. Sidie Tunis has expressed his displeasure over what he calls the continuous non- compliance to the rulings of the Community Court of Justice by the region’s Attorneys-General.
Tunis was speaking at the opening of a delocalised meeting of the ECOWAS Parliament Committee on Energy and Mines, Industry and Private Sector, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources and Infrastructure.
According to him, Ecowas cannot come up with such a Court only for member countries to disregard its rulings.
“Before I round up this brief address, permit me to use this medium to flag up an issue that has been of major concern within the Community. Here, I wish to refer to the continuous non-compliance with the rulings of the Community Court of Justice by Member States and other major actors within the region. Respect for the Rule of Law, of which total compliance with court
judgements is an integral part, is a major symbol of democracy. It is a major pillar of measuring how matured a Community’s democracy is. Courts are the last hope of the common man on the streets. ECOWAS cannot afford to establish a Community Court after having adopted all legal instruments to that effect, only for its Member States to continue disrespecting its
judgements with impunity. I believe we are a more serious people and can do much better than that.”
He called on AGFs in the region respect the Court.
” I call on all Attorneys General in all Member States, to as a matter of grave concern, not only to our people, but to the International Community, urgently organise a special meeting to address this ugly trend.
“All Laws must be obeyed and all court rulings must be adhered to. Failure to do so has the propensity to drift any society into anarchy. The ECOWAS Parliament is gravely concern about this subject,” he said.
