CJCA

Togo: death of the President of the Constitutional Court

The President of the Constitutional Court of Togo, Aboudou Assouma, who had been battling a serious illness for several years, died on Friday May 26 at the age of 78.

Aboudou Assouma has headed the high court in constitutional matters since 2007.

Born in 1945, Aboudou Assouma grew up in Kara where he completed his primary and secondary studies before leaving for France to pursue his higher education. He graduated in 1975, with a law degree before joining the ranks of the École Supérieure de la Magistrature de Paris for 2 years.

The man joined the Togolese judicial and political apparatus under General Eyadéma upon his return to Togo.

From 1977 to 1981, he was an investigating judge before becoming deputy public prosecutor from 1981 to 1988.

He was Public Prosecutor from 1988 to 1991.

From January 2 to June 17, 1992, he joined the government and served as Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister in charge of the Togolese Armed Forces (FAT) then Attorney General at the Lomé Court of Appeal on March 23, 1993.

He was appointed President of the Constitutional Court in 2007 by Faure Gnassingbé. He had thus succeeded Atsu Amega.

During his presidency, the Constitutional Court of Togo participated in the Constitutive Congress of the CJCA held in Algiers in 2011 and became a founding member.

On this painful occasion, the President of the Conference, the Secretary-General, members of the Executive Bureau and all the judges of the African Constitutional Courts extend their sincere condolences and sympathy to his family and all members of the Constitutional Court in Togo.

Brazil: Holding of the Seminar of the Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Portuguese-Speaking Countries

The President of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Minister Rosa Weber, opened on May 16, 2023 the Intermediate Seminar of the Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, which was held in the Sessions Hall of the STF. The meeting brings together representatives from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and East Timor.

In her speech, the President of the Tribunal underlined the fraternal ties that have united the Portuguese-speaking nations since their origins. “These are treasures of a rich heritage which, shared between the nations represented here, serve as ballast for the recognition of our common identity”.

This seminar will address the themes: “The role of constitutional jurisdiction in the promotion and guarantee of social and economic justice” and “Hermeneutics and constitutional jurisdiction”, divided into two panels.

The President recalled that 2008 was the year in which the Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Portuguese-speaking countries was launched. Since then, the Conference has been held every two years with the objectives of promoting human rights, defending democracy and judicial independence, fostering cooperation and the exchange of experience in matters of constitutional review.

The last Colloquium having been held last year in Lisbon, this intermediate seminar is preparatory to next year's Colloquium which will take place in Mozambique.

It should be noted that Portuguese-speaking African countries (Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, and Sao Tome) are members of the CJCA.

International Colloquium on Constitutional Justice and Electoral Disputes Kinshasa from May 18 to 20, 2023

Aware of the role of constitutional justice in the construction and consolidation of the rule of law and pluralist democracy, the DRC Constitutional Court, under the impetus of its President, Mr. Dieudonné KAMULETA, deemed it necessary to submit for reflection specialists in constitutional justice "the issue of the role of constitutional justice in the effectiveness of the rule of law and pluralist democracy". This is to enable the High Constitutional Court of the DRC to draw the necessary lessons to ensure the effectiveness and consolidation of the constitutional and democratic rule of law, the foundation of African neo-constitutionalism.

To do this, it will be a question of:

- Examine the place of constitutional courts in the construction of the rule of law and democracy;

- Examine the place of the Constitution and other reference standards in the office of the constitutional judge;

- Go through the different possible objects of the constitutional review;

- Reflect on the place of the constitutional judge in the national and international jurisdictional environment;

- Analyze the conditions for carrying out free, democratic and transparent elections, and study the place of the constitutional judge in this office.

It is within these objectives that this symposium on constitutional justice and electoral disputes falls. This is a scientific activity that will see the participation of the greatest European specialists (such as Professors Dominique Rousseau, Guillaume Drago, Guillaume Tusseau, Pierre de Montalivet, CAMBY Jean Pierre ...) as well as African and Congolese specialists (DARLAN Danièle, BADET Gilles, BALA CISSÉ, BABAKAR KANTE, DANDI GNAMOU, ONDOUA Alain, BOKONA François, André MBATA, IMERANE MAIGA Amadou...)

Ivory Coast: First woman President of the Constitutional Council

Ms. Chantal Nanaba Camara becomes the first woman president of the Constitutional Council in Côte d'Ivoire. An appointment made public on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, by press release from the Presidency of the Republic. She will now be responsible for chairing the regulatory body for the functioning of public authorities for a term of 6 years.

Magistrate outside the hierarchy of group A, single level, aged 69, Chantal Nanaba Camara now takes the reins of the Constitutional Council. She replaces in this position, the senior magistrate Mamadou Koné at the end of his mandate.

A great legal figure, Nanaba Camara has built the reputation of a magistrate attached to the strict application of the law.

With a flawless career that arouses admiration, after the departure of magistrate Tia Koné in July 2011, she was appointed head of the Judicial Chamber of the Supreme Court. Two years later, in June 2013, she was honored in the Order of National Merit of Côte d'Ivoire.

In April 2020, Chantal Nanaba Camara becomes the first woman appointed president of the Court of Cassation. Subsequently, in May 2020, she will be promoted as the first woman president of the Superior Council of the Judiciary.

A founding member of the Foundation for the Development of Justice in Africa, Nanaba Camara was also a member of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI).

She will officially take office from July 21, 2023. By then, three other advisers will also be appointed and the Constitutional Council completely renewed.

Composed of seven members, the Constitutional Council is the regulatory body for the functioning of the public authorities. On the political level, his role is to ensure the conformity of presidential and parliamentary elections.

Libreville-Gabon: Opening of the work of the First Meeting of African Women Judges

The work of the First Meeting of African Women Judges, co-organized by the CJCA and the Constitutional Court of the Gabonese Republic, under the theme "The presence of African women in the judiciary: assessment and prospects", began in Libreville, on Tuesday May 3, 2023.

The opening ceremony took place in the large conference room of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Gabon and was enhanced by the presence of H. E. Ali BONGO ONDIMBA, President of the Gabonese Republic who pronounced, on this occasion, the opening speech.

Marked by the presence of no less than 30 African countries, the “Meeting” received the support of UNDP, UNODC, UN Women.

This "Meeting", the first of its kind in Africa organized by the CJCA, aims to create an institutional framework for reflection on the obstacles that African women judges face in their careers, and to reflect on the prospects for their development.

The work will take place over two days and will be culminated with the adoption of the "Libreville declaration" which will define a strategy aimed at overcoming discrimination based on sex and identify the actions to be developed to promote the role of women in the judicial Africans systems.

Read it:

- Program Gabon agenda

- Concept note Gabon Note

- Libreville déclaration Libreville Declaration

Ghana: Appointment of a female new Chief Justice,

President Akufo-Addo has nominated Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo as the new Chief Justice.

The President in a letter to the Council of State on Tuesday, April 25, said her nomination is to avoid any vacuum that would occur following the retirement of the current Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah on May 24.

She will become the third female Chief Justice in the history of Ghana after Justices Georgina Theodora Wood and Sophia Akuffo.

She was born on 11 September 1962 in Cape Coast.

She attended Wesley Girls’ High School where she obtained her ordinary level certificate and Achimota School for her advanced level certificate.

She is an alumni of the University of Ghana and graduated from the Ghana School of Law in 1986.

In 2001 she obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in International Law and Organization from the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), part of Erasmus University in the Netherlands.

In 2011, she graduated from the Golden Gate University, USA with an LLM in Intellectual Property Law.

Prior to joining Fugar & Co., a law firm in Accra as an associate, Justice Torkornoo worked as a volunteer at the FIDA Legal Aid Service and did an internship with Nabarro Nathanson in London.

In January 1997, she co-founded Sozo Law Consult where she worked as Managing Partner until 14 May 2004 when she was appointed a Justice of the High Court of Ghana.

She worked as a High Court judge until October 2012 when she was elevated to the Court of Appeal.

Justice Torkornoo was nominated to the Supreme Court of Ghana in November 2019.

She was sworn into office on 17 December 2019.

Justice Torkornoo has held several leadership roles in the judicial service.

In her work as chair of E-Justice Committee, she has led the planning of automation of all levels of courts, procurement and incorporation of the use of electronic resources and software in the work of the Judicial Service.

She has also served as the Supervising Judge of commercial courts since 2013 where she has set the agenda for and chaired the meetings and programs of the Users Committee of the Commercial Courts.

The Supreme Court of Ghana has been a founding member of the CJCA since its establishment in 2011.

Burkina Faso: Appointment of a new President of the Constitutional Council

The President of the Transition, Head of State, of Burkina Faso, presided on April 11, 2023, the solemn swearing-in hearing of the new President of the Constitutional Council, Me Barthélemy KERE, he thus replaces Judge Kassoum Kambou, died in February 2022. The interim was provided by Mr BOURAIMA.

Lawyer by profession, Me Barthélemy KERE, former President of the Bar Association of Burkina Faso, was President of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), Minister of Justice and Human Rights, in charge of Relations with Institutions, seals.

It should be recalled that the Constitutional Council of Burkina Faso has been a founding member of the CJCA since 2011.

Iraq: membership of the Supreme Court, as an Observer, in the CJCA

In a letter addressed to the General Secretariat of the CJCA dated January 3, 2023, Chief Justice Mr. Jassem Mahmoud Aboud officially requested the Supreme Court of Iraq to join the CJCA as an “Observer Member”.

This request was endorsed by the members of the Executive Bureau of the CJCA, during its 15th session which was held in Kinshasa on February 10, 2023.

Observer members are non-African jurisdictions that request observer status.

The observer member does not have the right to vote; he is not required to pay any dues but may make donations to the Conference.

With the accession of the SC in Iraq, the number of observer members has increased to four, namely: the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil and the Constitutional Courts of Russia and Turkey.