144. The Applicants have been waiting for several years (at least 2) for payment of what they are owed and now claim. 145. Thus, it is necessary to verify whether, upon termination of their respective contracts, the Applicants are entitled to the allowances for which they now claim payment. The applicable legal regime. 146. Article 1(1) and (2) of the “PRINCIPES REGISSANT LES CONDITIONS ET SERVISSE DU PERSONNEL” provides that: 1 – “These principles, defined by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in application of Article 10 (3) (f) of the Revised Treaty, establish the general principles governing the conditions of the staff employment, their rights, obligations and privileges. 2 – They apply to all members of the staff of the Institutions of the Community, except those whose constitutive texts establish the contrary;” 147. Also, from Article 2 of the ECOWAS Staff Regulations, it is stated that: “The provisions of these Regulations shall apply to all staff members of ECOWAS as defined in Article 3 hereafter.” 148. And from Article 3 it follows that: “The following expressions in these Regulations shall have the following meanings: “Professional Staff” means an internationally recruited staff member from a Member State who is not a statutory appointee, holding university degrees or equivalent professional qualification, appointed by the Head of Institution 27