Michael Olugbode in Abuja 

President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, Hon. Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves, has pledged to implement the recommendations of the five-day Judicial Retreat of the Court that ended on 31 October 2025 in Niger State, Nigeria

In his closing remarks, the President reaffirmed the readiness of the Court’s leadership to ensure the implementation of the outcomes in line with its strategic framework and timelines.  

He urged the staff members to be diligent in performing their duties and responsibilities and in supporting the honourable judges in the discharge of their judicial functions. 

During the retreat, presentations and discussions focused on six critical areas namely: annual performance report from October 2024 to October 2025, expedited procedures and provisional measures, comparative analysis of practices before other international and regional courts, applicability of procedural laws and the roles of the President, Judge Rapporteur, and Chief Registrar, review of previous retreat recommendations and their implementation, and presentation of the Manual of Disciplinary Procedure. 

Outcomes from the retreat included enhanced understanding of international and regional court practices, clarification of applicable procedural laws and institutional roles, adoption of the Manual of Disciplinary Procedure, and resolutions addressing inter-departmental collaboration, stakeholder engagement and external relations, Electronic Case Management System (ECMS), language services optimisation, among others.

Participants at the retreat, held from 26th to 31st October 2025 on the theme: Efficiency and Effectiveness: Streamlining Processes for a Dynamic ECOWAS Court, included the honourable judges, chief registrar, directors, heads of divisions and units, executive assistants to the honourable judges, registry and legal officers and some key support staff of the Court. 

The judicial retreat is an important annual activity of the Court that affords the judges and legal staff of the Court the opportunity to reflect, review and where necessary develop an implementable roadmap for the enhancement of the processes and operations of the Court.

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