The ECOWAS Court of Justice has dismissed an application for interim measures filed by the former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, saying the request failed to meet the legal requirements necessary for such relief.
The ruling, delivered this morning, was shared publicly by the Deputy Attorney-General, Justice Srem Sai, on his official Facebook page on Wednesday, 19th November 2025.
According to the Court, Justice Torkornoo did not demonstrate the urgency or imminent harm required to justify granting interim measures. The panel noted that the very conduct of the Applicant weakened her own claim of suffering “imminent and irreparable harm.”
“The Applicant’s own conduct defeats her claim of imminent and irreparable harm. The Court is, therefore, satisfied that the Applicant has not demonstrated the existence of imminent or exceptional circumstances that will justify the urgency of the application filed almost 3 months after the act complained of.”
The Court further stressed that because the Applicant did not meet the requirement of urgency, which is the first and essential test, it found no need to assess the remaining criteria for provisional measures.
“In the light of the Applicant’s failure to meet the requirement of urgency, the Court finds no basis to assess the remaining criteria for provisional measures, the same being cumulative. The request for provisional measures as outlined by the Applicant, which is not substantiated, is therefore dismissed.”
With this decision, the ECOWAS Court has effectively rejected all the temporary reliefs Justice Torkornoo sought while her main case remains pending.
The former Chief Justice had applied in an attempt to secure interim protection following events she considered unlawful. However, the nearly three-month delay before bringing the matter before the Court played a significant role in undermining her plea for urgency.
