ECOWAS COURT SET TO TRANSMIT REVIEWED DRAFT ARBITRATION RULES TO COUNCIL OF MINISTERS FOR APPROVAL

In its effort to fast track and carry out its Arbitration mandate granted to it by the Treaty and the 2005 Supplementary Protocol, the ECOWAS Court of Justice held a workshop at Global Village Suites in Nassarawa State of Nigeria from 1st to 5th December 2019 to review the draft Arbitration Rules for approval by the Council of Ministers.

During the workshop, participants, including Judges and Legal Officers of the Court examined the various articles contained in the existing draft Arbitration Rules prepared since 2011.

In order to come up with a comprehensive and standard document for adoption, participants at the workshop carried out a comparative analysis of other international Arbitration Rules such as the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. The workshop also took into account the Current Trends in International and Regional Arbitration for the purpose of updating the Court`s existing Rules.

Addressing participants at the closing of the workshop, Hon. Justice Edward Amoako Asante, President of the Court expressed appreciation and satisfaction on the good work done by the participants. He assured participants that the Court will ensure speedy submission of the reviewed document to the ECOWAS Commission for presentation to Legal Experts of member states for careful examination and onward transmission to the Council of Ministers.

President Asante added that the approval by Council of Ministers is necessary for the Court to be able to operationalize its Arbitration mandate. He hoped however, that by mid-next year the document will be ready for presentation to the Council of Ministers.