AFRICAN COURT WIDENS MANDATE TO ECONOMY-RELATED CASES

The African Court on Human and People's Rights (AfCHPR) has expanded its mandate to cover business-related cases.

Cases filed before the Arusha-based Court are  not confined to those pertaining to human rights violations as originally thought.

"We are getting cases on trade disputes....those seeking economic justice", said the President of the Court, Lady Justice Imani D. Aboud.

She made the remarks in Arusha on Tuesday after meeting a delegation of senior officials of the West African Economic and Monetary Union Court of Justice.

She said the African Court will seek cooperation with the legal facility because the two organs were guided by the principles of the  African Charter on Human and People's Rights. 

Lady Justice Aboud said although the two institutions may have differing mandates they have decided to pursue cooperation.

"I would like to commend the leadership of the Court of Justice for this burgeoning cooperation. It is for the sake of regionalization of justice", she said. 

The delegation of the West African Economic and Monetary Union Court of Justice was led by its President Daniel Amagoin Tessoge.

He told reporters that the judicial organ was keen for cooperation with the African Court on best practices on delivery of justice. 

He added that his organ would extend the necessary support and experience to the African Court on handling of economic-related cases.

The Ouagadougou-based West African Economic and Monetary Union (Waemu) was established in January 1994 by eight countries in the region

Its main objective was to build a harmonized and integrated economic area in West Africa that will see unified external tariffs.

Members of the bloc are Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte D'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. 

Its establishment coincided with devaluation of the CFA franc which is used by at least 14  countries in West and Central Africa.

The devaluation was intended to ensure coherent monetary and economic policy among the states of the CFA zone. 

It was at this juncture, the Court of Justice of the eight-nation economic and monetary union was set up to assist in the enforcement of that coherence.

Besides the African Court, the delegation will also visit legal and judicial bodies in Arusha including the East African Court of Justice.

Others are the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, the Pan African Lawyers's Union (Palu) and the East African Law Society (EALS).