The Gambia’s Chief Justice was elected to preside over a two-day meeting of Supreme Court Chief Justices of Ecowas members states on September 13th and 14th, in Abuja, Nigeria.  The meeting of the heads of judiciaries of Ecowas countries was convened to consider draft Rules of Procedure of the Community Judicial Council presented by the Judicial and Legal Affairs Committee and authorised to be prescribed by authority of the heads of state and governments in August 2006.

Delivering the opening address at the meeting, Chief Justice Abdou Kareem Savage stressed that apart from their traditional responsibilities of protecting human rights, safeguarding the independence of the judiciary and promoting the rule of law, judges could, through the forum of the Community Judicial Council, contribute to the attainment of global development goals, such as poverty reduction and environmental protection, and generally to the Ecowas regional integration process.

The President of the Ecowas Commission, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, told the judges that the Community Judicial Council is an institutional framework that involves the Chief Justices of Ecowas members states in decision-making in matters relating to the recruitment of judges of the Community Court of Justice and ensuring that they observe high moral values throughout the duration of their tenure.

The meeting brought together chief justices, supreme court judges, and senior judicial and legal personnel from Benin, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. 

During the two-day deliberations, the heads of judicial institutions in Ecowas member states adopted the Rules of Procedure of the Community Judicial Council to serve as the regulatory framework guiding the Community Court of Justice.

The chief justices’ meeting was preceded by a gathering of judicial and legal technical experts from Ecowas members states to review the draft Rules, from September 11 to 12.

Dr Henry DR Carrol, Solicitor General and Legal Secretary, represented the Attorney General’s Chambers at the experts’ meeting, whilst Mrs Safiyatu Njai, Master and Registrar of the High Court, represented the judiciary.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Savage joined his colleagues and thousands of judges, lawyers, judicial and legal officials at the Commonwealth Law Conference held in Nairobi, Kenya, in early September 2007.