By Henry Ojelu
Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, has called on the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, to establish an appellate division for the ECOWAS Court of Justice, citing conflicting judgments and the absence of a review mechanism.
In a letter dated June 29, 2026, to the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, Falana argued that the regional court’s status as a court of first and last resort has raised concerns about fairness and consistency in its decisions.
“The judgments of the ECOWAS Court are final and binding on all member states. It is a court of first and last resort as its judgments are not subject to appeal,” he said.
Falana noted that Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, had also expressed concern over the lack of an appellate mechanism, saying, “The absence of a separate appellate mechanism limits access to justice, especially in cases where errors of law or procedure may have occurred.”
According to Falana, growing calls for an appeal chamber have been driven by what he described as inconsistent decisions by the court.
He cited cases involving public interest litigation, limitation periods for human rights claims, interpretation of Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act, and the removal of judicial officers.
He noted that while the court had previously allowed civil society organisations to institute human rights actions on behalf of citizens, it later ruled in a case involving the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, that NGOs must obtain authorization from victims or their relatives before filing such claims.
Falana also pointed to conflicting rulings on whether time limits apply to human rights cases and differing decisions on provisions of Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act.
On judicial discipline matters, he said the court declined to review proceedings leading to the removal of Ghana’s Chief Justice on the ground that it could not exercise appellate jurisdiction over domestic processes, but adopted a different approach in similar cases involving Nigeria and The Gambia.
“The campaign for an appellate division of the Court has increased as a result of the inconsistencies that have characterized several decisions of the Court,” Falana stated.
He recalled that the ECOWAS Council of Ministers had approved the establishment of an appellate division as far back as June 2005 and directed the ECOWAS Commission to undertake feasibility studies.
“Your Excellency will agree with us that the ECOWAS Court can no longer continue to operate as a one-chamber court,” he said.
Urging immediate action, Falana added: “Having regard to the urgent need to enhance the capacity of the Judges and restore the confidence of the member states of the ECOWAS and community citizens in the Court, the appellate division should be established without any further delay.”
He maintained that creating an appeal chamber would strengthen judicial accountability, improve consistency in the court’s decisions and boost confidence in the regional justice system.
