JUDGMENT PARTIES The Plaintiff is a Nigerian and a former Chief Justice of the Republic of The Gambia. Although the Plaintiff initially designated two Defendants in this suit; namely the Republic of The Gambia and its Ministry of Justice, the Court, in line with its jurisprudence struck out the name of the latter as it is bereft of a legal personality distinct from that of the State, being just a constituent part and the legal arm of the Defendant. See the case of HOPE DEMOCRATIC PARTY & ANOR. V. THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AND 5 ORS. Suit No. ECW/CCJ/APP/04/15 where the Court held that “2nd through 6th Defendants not being competent parties/Defendants before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, the case against these defendants is ruled inadmissible (…) and they are dropped as improper parties before the Court, and the case accordingly dismissed severally and jointly”. In effect the only defendant in the instant suit is the Republic of the Gambia a Member State of the ECOWAS, and a signatory to the Revised Treaty establishing the ECOWAS. THE PLAINTIFF’S SUMMARY OF FACTS The application is premised on an alleged violation by the Defendant of the Plaintiffs legitimate rights as enshrined in Articles 1, 2, 3, 4 & 19 of the African Charter, Articles 6 & 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and section 24 of the 1997 Constitution of The Gambia. The Plaintiff avers that he served as Chief Justice of the Republic of The Gambia in 2013, under the administration of President Yahaya Jammeh. 2