President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana has urged member states to comply and enforce decisions and judgments of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice (CCJ) for stronger integration of the region.

Mr Akufo-Addo made the call at the opening of the 11th external session of the ECOWAS Court in Accra.

“Unless Member States comply with the judgments of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, it will be difficult to build public confidence in the court.

“I appeal to all Member States to ensure that they comply with their Treaty obligations by serving and obeying the judgments of the Court,” he said.

The president said that the court’s best efforts at delivering on its mandate were being constrained by the poor rate of enforcement which stands at 30 per cent.

He urged the member states that have not done so to appoint their competent national authorities for the enforcement of the judgements of the Court.

Mr Akufo-Addo, who is also chairman of the authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, urged the national authorities to comply in line with Article 24 (4) of the 2005 Supplementary Protocol on the Court.

He said that the provision requires the member states to determine the competent national authority for the purpose of receipt and processing of execution and notify the Court accordingly.

As part of the restructuring of the community and its institutions, Mr Akufo-Addo said that it was time to revisit the 2018 reduction in the number of judges of the court from the seven provided in the initial protocol on the court to five in 2018.

He noted that by strengthening the court, the community will be providing the enabling legal environment for the integration of the region.

President of the court, Justice Edward Asante, commended the Republic of Ghana for hosting the session.

He stated that the presence of the country’s president, political and judicial actors, was a demonstration of the country’s respect for rule of law.

(NAN)