The ECOWAS Court of Justice has dismissed an application for interim measures filed by former Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, citing failure to meet the required legal thresholds.
According to the court, the application submitted nearly three months after the alleged violation did not demonstrate the level of urgency or imminent harm needed for such reliefs to be granted.
In its ruling, the Court stated that “the application did not satisfy the criteria for a grant of interim measures.”
The panel further emphasised that the applicant’s delay undermined her own claim of potential harm.
“The Applicant’s own conduct defeats her claim of imminent and irreparable harm,” the Court held, adding that she had failed to show “the existence of imminent or exceptional circumstance that will justify the urgency of the application filed almost 3 months after the act complained of.”
The Court therefore concluded that there was no need to examine the remaining conditions for granting provisional measures, since these requirements are cumulative.
“In the light of the Applicant’s failure to meet the requirement of urgency, the Court finds no basis to assess the remaining criteria for provisional measures… The request for provisional measures as outlined by the Applicant, same not substantiated, is therefore dismissed.”
Deputy Attorney-General, Justice Srem-Sai, shared excerpts of the ruling on his Facebook page on Wednesday morning.
Justice Torkornoo’s substantive case before the ECOWAS Court, challenging her removal from office, remains pending.
