The ECOWAS Court of Justice has delivered a decision that reinforces its role in safeguarding human rights within the West African region, ruling that it has the authority to examine the substantive complaint filed by Ghana’s former Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkonoo, over her removal from office.
In a judgment issued on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, the regional court declined to stop the work of the presidential committee that investigated her conduct, but simultaneously affirmed its jurisdiction to hear her human rights claims—a development that underscores the Court’s willingness to intervene where due-process concerns arise, even in politically sensitive national matters.
Justice Torkonoo had sought provisional measures to freeze the work of the committee constituted by President John Dramani Mahama and chaired by Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang. She argued that the process leading to her removal, and the subsequent swearing-in of Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, violated her fundamental rights.
While acknowledging that her application raised legitimate human rights concerns, the panel of judges found no pressing urgency justifying an emergency halt to the committee’s activities. They noted that she had been suspended since April 22, 2025 and yet waited three months before filing her request—an action the Court said weakened any claim of imminent harm.
The ruling also pushed back against the Ghanaian government’s attempt to block the case. Attorney General Dominic Ayine had insisted the matter was sub judice due to ongoing litigation in Ghana. But the ECOWAS Court held that parallel proceedings do not automatically strip it of jurisdiction, especially when the issues before it relate specifically to alleged rights violations rather than a review of domestic judicial decisions. It emphasized that the sub judice rule applies only when another court is poised to deliver a judgment on the same legal question.
By dismissing the objection, the Court reaffirmed its mandate to hear complaints of rights infringements brought by individuals against member states. It declared Justice Torkonoo’s main application admissible and ordered Ghana’s Attorney General to respond to the human rights claims at the heart of the case.
The decision sets the stage for a substantive regional examination of the circumstances surrounding the former Chief Justice’s removal, with potential implications for judicial independence and accountability mechanisms across ECOWAS member states.
