The COMESA Court of Justice is attending the 30^th East African Law Society Annual Conference, taking place from 26 – 30 November 2025 at Skylight Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as part of its capacity-building, visibility and outreach initiatives. The Court’s participation provides an opportunity to engage practitioners, bar leaders and institutions on its mandate, jurisdiction, jurisprudence, and the services offered by the Court.

The Registrar of the Court participated as a speaker on the panel, “Taking Stock: State of Implementation of Decisions Across African Human Rights Bodies and Regional Courts.” The session opened with a presentation by Dr. Tarisai Mutangi – Head of Postgraduate Legal Studies and Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Zimbabwe, who shared insights from a scoping study led by the Centre for Human Rights on empirical trends, patterns and gaps in the implementation of human rights decisions across African regional courts and commissions. Dr. Mutangi observed that implementation levels remain critically low, attributing this to a lack of political will among Member States and the absence of systematic mechanisms to track compliance.

In her remarks during the session, the Registrar emphasised that “you cannot delink trade and human rights.” She noted that trade and commercial activities often have direct human rights implications, offering the example that when goods are held up at a border, the consequences extend beyond commercial delays and may affect the rights and welfare of individuals. She further observed that the COMESA Treaty already contains provisions recognising human and peoples’ rights and stressed that meaningful regional integration must therefore acknowledge the interdependence between trade and human rights.

Hon. Justice Prof. John Eudes Ruhangisa founding Registrar of the East African Court of Justice also spoke, emphasising the need for stronger judicial cooperation between regional and national courts on implementation of human rights decision. He noted that national courts must respect decisions made by regional courts and actively support enforcement efforts to strengthen the rule of law.

Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda, SC, former Attorney General of Malawi, also contributed to the panel. He noted that to address the enforcement gaps that persist across the continent, there is need to consider developing a protocol on the recognition and enforcement of human rights decisions. He emphasised that such a framework would promote coherence, ensure consistency in State obligations and ultimately strengthen compliance with decisions issued by regional courts and commissions.

In addition to its contribution to the panel, the COMESA Court of Justice is enhancing its visibility at the conference through a dedicated information booth, where delegates are engaging with staff on the Court’s services, procedures, key jurisprudence and digital platforms. As the conference concludes on 30 November 2025, the Court’s presence reaffirms its commitment to deepening engagement, promoting awareness and strengthening a rule of law based regional integration agenda.