The ECOWAS Court of Justice has fixed 27th October 2021 to deliver judgment in a case brought by a former Community Staff Mr. Komlan Raymond Koudo for the payment of severance pay outstanding salaries and allowances.
Koudo’s lawyer Mr Isaac Charia described his client as a contract staff with the ECOWAS Parliament, whose appointment was renewed many times but who was not paid his allowances at the end of contract, including salary, housing arrears as well as separation and leave allowances.
He asked the court to compel ECOWAS to pay the outstanding in accordance with provisions of Article 35 of the Staff Regulations regarding statutory appointees and professional staff.
In its defence, Mr Samhouna Assouman and Mr Daniel Lago, legal adviser of the Parliament and Director Legal, ECOWAS Commission respectively, contended that the outstanding payments were withheld because the former staff had not regularized advances totaling 25,694 USD for missions outside the parliament, but that other allowances were duly paid and an acknowledgement copy signed by the claimant.
They added that Mr Koudo was not paid three months’ salary on the orders of the cost controller due to irregularities discovered in his recruitment process.
The lawyers told the Court that Mr Koudo was yet to exhaust internal processes for resolving the matter before approaching the Court and requested an out-of-court settlement which the Plaintiff’s lawyer opposed in favour of the continuation of the court proceeding seeking reliefs including the payment of damages.
A panel of three judges comprising Justices Edward Amoako Asante (presiding), Dupe Atoki and Januaria Costa heard the arguments of both parties and the matter ECW/CCJ/APP/42/20 was adjourned to 27th October 2021 for judgment.