The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Court of West African States (ECOWAS) on 19 November 2025, dismissed an application filed by Ghana challenging its jurisdiction to hear an application filed by Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo for the enforcement of her human rights over what she says is a blatant disregard to her right to a fair hearing, guaranteed by both Ghana’s 1992 constitution and the 1991 protocol of the Community Court of Justice.
Ghana, represented by the deputy attorney general, Justice Srem-Sai, sought to challenge the court’s jurisdiction to hear Justice Torkornoo’s application.
But at the court’s Zoom sitting the court dismissed the challenge, noting that Justice Gertrude Torkornoo has a prima facie case of a violation of her fundamental human rights and that the court therefore has jurisdiction to hear the case.
On Justice Torkornoo’s application for provisional measures, the ECOWAS court refused to grant the same because the application was filed on 4 July 2025, three clear months after the suspension warrant was issued. The court directed that it would rather deal with the substantive human rights application before it.
To this end, the ECOWAS court has ordered Ghana to file its response to the application filed by Justice Gertrude Torkornoo within the next 30 days, since the nation refused to file the same using their application challenging the jurisdiction of the court as the basis for the refusal to respond to the pending application of Justice Torkornoo.
The deputy attorney general, during the hearing, also wanted the court to order lawyers representing Justice Torkornoo to withdraw an application they filed for a default ruling of the court following the refusal of Ghana to respond to the substantive action before the court. However, Justice Torkornoo’s lawyers indicated that they will not withdraw this application because they believe that Ghana will not respond to the substantive application if they withdraw their application for a default ruling.
