No institutional framework to fight cross-border crimes – Chief Justice

The Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has expressed dismay at the non-existence of proper institutional framework to fight cross-border crimes across the West-African sub-region.

She said the ECOWAS has been slow in dealing with problems associated with the resultant regime of free movement of persons and goods in the zone.

“The institutional frame work is simply not there across the various states to tackle such serious criminal issues which are devastating to the socio-economic life of the people of West-Africa, and diverting the scarce resources intended to improve the daily lives of the people, to tackle security issues only,” she said.

The Chief Justice was speaking at a symposium organized by the Wayamo Foundation and the Africa Group for Justice and Accountability, in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and with the support of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) and the School of Law of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).

It was on the theme “West African International Justice – Leadership, Challenges, and Opportunities”.

She said “there is no mechanism in place to investigate and prosecute offenders except individual member states decide to act on their own, with or without co-operation of other member states wherein part of the process of committing the crime might have taken place.“

“Besides money laundering, other serious cross-border crimes continue to proliferate the ECOWAS area, with dire consequences to the fabric of society, as well as security implications. Some of these crimes are human trafficking, smuggling and the trafficking of arms, gangsterism,“ she added.

She, however, charged participants of the symposium to deliberate on issues such as achieving speedy investigation across borders into alleged crimes and also expeditious trials and considering granting domestic courts extra-territorial jurisdiction over nationals of other states whose criminal activities cross across borders.

Also to find ways of strengthening existing institutions, by resourcing them to fight cross border crimes, and ECOWAS governments to live up to their responsibilities in keeping with world peace by dealing with impunity within their shores.

“This should commence with the passage of national legislation to admit universal norms into the national legal systems as well as put measures in place for their enforcement. These measures and others must be contained in a well-considered protocol by the AU or in West Africa under Article 57 of the revised Treaty, he instruments of the existing regional judicial institutions.“

The symposium brought together international and local experts on international criminal justice and transnational organised crime, non-governmental organisations, academics, practitioners and members of civil society.