A delegation of the Community Court of Justice, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Court), led by its President, Justice Ricardo Cláudio Gonçalves, has just concluded a week-long study visit to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, and other key institutions in Sweden.

The objective of the visit, which spanned between November 23 and 29, was to provide the delegation with practical insights into the enforcement of human rights judgments from regional and international courts.

Although the court is funded by the regional government, its decisions are rarely obeyed by the same authority that established and sustained it.

The visit focused on learning from the experiences of other international courts and institutions while providing a platform for the ECOWAS Court to share its experiences.

“The study visit was intended to enhance the ECOWAS Court’s enforcement mechanisms and significantly improve compliance with its human rights judgments”, the court said.

Organised by the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI), the visit was part of its programme aimed at increasing the implementation of human rights decisions of continental and regional human rights institutions in Africa.

The delegation, led by the President of the Court, included the Vice-President of the Court, Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma, Justice Gberi-Bè Ouattara and Justice Dupe Atoki. Others include the Chief Registrar of the Court, Director of Research and Documentation, as well as selected staff of the Registry, Administration and Finance Department, as well as the Language Services division. Two staff members of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute also formed part of the delegation.