ECOWAS’ Zero Tolerance for Unconstitutional Change of Government
1.1 Introduction
Mr. Chairman, all protocols observed. My task in this auspicious occasion is to do a presentation on the topic: ‘The Rule of Law, Democracy and Good Governance – ECOWAS’ Constitutional Convergence Principles in Perspective’. Mr. Chairman, please permit me to rather do a presentation on ‘ECOWAS’ Categorical Imperative Principles of Governance in Regional International Law’. The presentation is so re-named, because in the context of West Africa’s regional international law, the entire membership of ECOWAS is bound by its Revised Treaty, signed in Cotonou, Benin, on the 24th July 1993 and its subsisting Protocols and Declarations, ratified and/or domesticated, pursuant to the appropriate provisions of its Member States’ respective constitutions.
Thus, the paper presents the case that the current worrisome trend in global politics, regarding the resurgence of political authoritarianism, has had serious ramifications for regional integration and the fundamental political and legal architecture upon which ECOWAS is built.