Published on :
Mali will file a complaint against the ECOWAS sanctions. The Malian government intends to solicit competent sub-regional, African and international institutions “, against economic and financial sanctions deemed “ illegal. Since this announcement, presented as one of the main “response” measures promised by the authorities, no details have been given. What could this legal offensive look like?
At the sub-regional level, the ECOWAS Court of Justice is a closed door for Bamako, since it froze all procedures relating to Mali last September, after the country was suspended from ECOWAS institutions for four months more early.
According to a Malian expert in international justice and an international lawyer specializing in Mali, both requesting anonymity, the Uemoa Court of Justice could, on the other hand, be seized. It would be the first time in history that a decision by the heads of state of the West African Monetary Union would be denounced there.
Attack and response
The freezing of Mali’s assets, the suspension of commercial and financial transactions with ECOWAS countries or even the closing of borders could thus be challenged in the name of Mali’s sovereignty, which is a principle of common law.
Main limit: these sanctions are not an attack, but a response to an initial “fault”, namely Mali’s failure to comply with the rules of ECOWAS and UEMOA, of which Mali is a member: accession in power in breach of the constitutional order, via a military coup, and the repeated violation of commitments made by Mali to ECOWAS on the organization of elections in February.
Similar sanctions have already been adopted in the past against Member States – Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Côte d’Ivoire.
If these sanctions are not provided for by the fundamental texts of ECOWAS, they are indeed provided for by a specific protocol adopted in 2012 and signed by Mali as by all the other Member States.
Magnitude and proportionality of sanctions
Another possible angle of attack for a complaint from the Malian transitional authorities: the extent of the sanctions, deemed ” inhuman by Bamako. Are they proportional to the fault sanctioned? Are the food, energy and health restrictions brought by ECOWAS sufficient?
At the continental level, Mali could also turn to the African Court of Human Rights.
Landlocked States Convention
At the international level, the United Nations Human Rights Committee could be a lead, but this is not a priori not its role: it is usually more concerned with reminding States of their obligations in terms of respecting the rights of civilians.
Ultimate possibility: Mali has ratified the UN Convention of Landlocked States – cited by Prime Minister Choguel Maïga during his speech on January 15 on the ORTM -, which provides for an obligation for transit countries to allow goods to circulate. Exceptions are nevertheless provided for, for example for security reasons.
Mali could therefore request the arbitration commission or the International Court of Justice, which is the main judicial body of the United Nations.
Steps which the experts interviewed consider that they can take years, and that they have very little chance of succeeding.