Cross section of justices of the court at the training
By Mark Longyen
The ECOWAS Court of Justice on Tuesday held a staff training program on new Electronic Case Management System (ECMS) aimed at digitalizing the entire judicial process of the Court from filing to delivery of judgment.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the four-day training program is designed to standardise the judicial processes of the Court in line with international best practice.
When ultimately unveiled, it will eliminate challenges with the use and storage of papers, increase efficiency and performance of the Court, and offer a cost-effective access to the Court by all parties.
President of the Court, Justice Edward Asante, in his opening remark, said the world was moving towards digitalisation, hence it become imperative for the Court to move its judicial processes online.
He urged the participating staff members to actively participate in the programme, particularly the live simulation and practice sessions.
Justice Asante explained that the training, which was being conducted in batches, was for employees who were involved in the case management workflow of the Court.
According to the Court’s President, it is designed to expose them to the functionality of the ECMS platform and also elicit feedback to finalise it.
Also speaking, Dr Athanase Atannon, Deputy Chief Registrar and Project Director of the ECMS, said the program’s objectives and desired outcomes were to provide judges and employees with relevant information on the use of ECMS.
Atannon said that it would also expose them to their roles in the system through hands-on exercises, adding that their observations and suggestions would help to improve its functionality before the ultimate unveiling of the final product.
He expressed gratitude to the management of the Court for its unwavering support for the adoption of the new work tool to enhance the efficient operation of the Court.
He further said that the Court would also organise training for lawyers and other key external stakeholders on the use of the software.
NAN reports that the training was facilitated by Dr Frederic Drabo, Project Consultant, as well as some staff members of the Court’s ICT Unit and Registry Department.
The event also featured presentations on the functionality of the new ECMS, role-based access and workflows associated with the system.
The ECMS also has features that allow cases to be filed in the three languages of the Court, English, French and Portuguese, and can generate analysis and statistics on cases.
Participants were also shown live simulations of the ECMS from e-filing of a new case to judgment delivery.
There were also interpreters, and staff from the Communication, Protocol and Accounts Units of the Court, who assisted in the training.
Participants at the training included Judges of the Court and their aides, the Chief Registrar, Directors, Heads of Units, and employees of the Research Department.(NAN)
