News Investigators/ Three major African regional courts have resolved to strengthen institutional cooperation and address persistent challenges in enforcing judicial decisions to improve access to justice across the continent.
The commitment was made at the Third Tripartite Judicial Dialogue held in Arusha, Tanzania, between Nov. 9 and Nov. 10, under the theme, “Strengthening Institutional Cooperation, Implementation of Decisions and the Future of AJUDATA in Africa.”
This is contained in a statement issued by the Community Court of Justice on Tuesday in Abuja.
“The dialogue seeks to consolidate judicial partnerships, strengthen mechanisms for enforcing court decisions and advance the development of the African Jurisprudence Database (AJUDATA).
“It also builds on the Second Tripartite Judicial Dialogue, held in Arusha on September 2024, which identified critical institutional challenges confronting African regional courts.
“The challenges include inadequate human, technical and financial resources, weak implementation of judicial decisions and gaps in institutional coordination,” the statement said.
The meeting also underscores the importance of sustained judicial cooperation in promoting human rights, access to justice, the rule of law and regional integration.
It said the dialogue provided an opportunity for judges, registry officials and institutional partners to assess progress on previous commitments and identify practical solutions.
These commitments include strengthening jurisprudential exchange, improving the implementation and monitoring of judicial decisions, and expanding joint awareness, research and capacity-building initiatives.
“A major focus is AJUDATA, a continental and trans-regional initiative, designed to improve access to African international jurisprudence, legal resources and institutional information,” it added.
The database is expected to facilitate legal research, support the monitoring of judicial decisions and promote greater harmonisation of jurisprudence across African judicial institutions.
Participants also explored opportunities for collaboration in emerging areas of jurisprudence, particularly environmental rights and climate justice.
The dialogue is organised with the support of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute and its partners.
“It is expected to produce recommendations on institutional cooperation, strengthen implementation and follow-up mechanisms, provide strategic direction for AJUDATA’s governance and sustainability, and identify future technical partnerships.
“The ECOWAS Court’s participation reaffirms its commitment to judicial partnerships, jurisprudential exchange and building an accessible, coordinated and effective regional and continental justice system,” the statement further said.
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