Adjudicating African Women's Rights: The Jurisprudence of the ECOWAS Court

Author: Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781009758581

Published In: August 2026
Format: Paperback
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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Contents

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The book provides valuable insights into the landscape of women's rights in West Africa through the transformative decisions made by the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice (ECOWAS Court). Originally established to foster socio-economic integration, the ECOWAS Court has evolved into Africa's premier regional human rights court. With nearly 90% of its decisions addressing human rights issues, the ECOWAS Court now surpasses the African Commission – the continent's longest-standing human rights body – in the number of human rights cases it handles. It offers a compelling analysis of the ECOWAS Court's women's rights jurisprudence, an often-overlooked but essential aspect of the Court's human rights mandate. Grounded in the due diligence principle and the Maputo Protocol, the book sheds light on how adjudicating women's rights cases promotes the global gender equality agenda and challenges state actions that undermine human rights.

1. Introduction: shaping African women's rights in the ECOWAS court

2. State responsibility for gender-based discrimination: a pioneering triumph for women's rights in Africa

Dorothy Njemanz

3. Delimiting state responsibility for gender-based violence

Collectif v. Mali

4. The rights of domestic violence victims in international law

Mary Sunday and Sarah Kingsley Odoro

5. Access to justice for rape victims

Ekundayo Idris, Adama Vandi and Satta Lamin Banya

6. Protecting women's rights in marriage and family life

Aminata Diantou Diane

7. Widows' rights to housing, property and dignity