The Judges of the COMESA Court of Justice paid a Courtesy Call on the President of the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia, Honourable Judge President Tewodros Meheret Kebede, and the State Minister of Trade and Regional Integration, H.E Yasmin Wohabrebbi, on 6 August 2024 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Honourable Justice Ali Sulaiman Mohamed led the delegation from the COMESA Court of Justice.

The Courtesy Call on Judge President Tewodros was to foster synergy between the COMESA Court of Justice and the Judiciary of Ethiopia as well as to promote the visibility and access by the Federal Republic of Ethiopia and its citizens to the COMESA Court of Justice.

The Honourable Judge President Tewodros noted that there was a lack of awareness of the COMESA Court of Justice, its mandate and jurisdiction among the Ethiopian citizens and the judiciary. He affirmed that the COMESA Court of Justice was essential in the promotion of regional integration. He encouraged the COMESA Court of Justice to continue engaging Member States to raise the awareness and visibility of the Court.

The head of delegation of the COMESA Court of Justice, Honourable Justice Ali Sulaiman Mohamed, informed the Honourable Judge President that the COMESA Court of Justice aims to promote a working relationship with the national courts of Ethiopia by conducting training programmes with the Ethiopian judiciary. He emphasised that the trainings are vital in the promotion of Article 30 of the Treaty which enables national courts to request the COMESA Court of Justice to give a preliminary ruling where a question concerning the application or interpretation of the Treaty or the validity of regulations, directives and decisions of the Common Market is pending before a national court.

The Honourable Judge President welcomed the training by the COMESA Court of Justice as he expressed his interest especially because the judiciary of Ethiopia was in the process of implementing a reform programme in the federal and regional courts of Ethiopia which included a training institute for judges. The training from the COMESA Court of Justice is therefore aligned with the goals of the Ethiopian judiciary.

The Honourable Judge President informed the Judges of the COMESA Court that the judicial system of Ethiopia was incorporating a digital smart court system which included a video conferencing and digital transcription of proceedings in real time. The Ethiopian courts were also in the process of developing a case and evidence management system which they aimed to complete by mid 2025. He expressed his keenness to know the experience that the COMESA Court has had with its case and evidence management system to see how it could help the system that was being developed for the Ethiopian courts.

The Judges of the COMESA Court also extended an invitation to the Honourable Judge President Tewodros to the inauguration of the COMESA Court Registry in November 2024 in Lusaka, Zambia. The Honourable Judge President expressed his delight to support the COMESA Court of Justice as he accepted the invitation.

During the Courtesy Call at the office of H.E Yasmin Wohabrebbi, State Minister of Trade and Regional Integration, the Judges of the COMESA Court of Justice expressed their gratitude for the facilitation extended to the COMESA Court of Justice in their visit to Ethiopia. The Registrar of the COMESA Court, Honourable Nyambura Mbatia, stated that there was need for Member States such as the Federal Republic of Ethiopia to include an arbitration clause in contracts with investors, that referred investor-state disputes to the COMESA Court of Justice to promote the use of the COMESA Court of Justice by COMESA Member States. Honourable Justice Mary Kasango informed the Honourable Minister that no legal fees is charged for litigating a matter in the COMESA Court, and that there was a considerably low cost for bringing a matter for arbitration before arbitrators in the COMESA Court of Justice.

The Honourable Minister Yasmin was further informed that the Court had adjudicated on several matters that had set precedents in trade disputes in Africa.The Honourable Minister Yasmin encouraged the COMESA Court to continue sensitising Member States on the benefits of the COMESA Court of Justice and urged the Court to consider other ways of enhancing access to the COMESA Court of Justice by Member States and its citizens.

The Honourable Minister emphasised that there was need for the COMESA Court of Justice to collaborate with national judiciaries of Member States to fully benefit from the services provided by the Court. The Honourable Minister further urged the Court to raise awareness and provide capacity building for Member States so that Member States could fully understand the COMESA Court of Justice and its Rules.