Normative Role of the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Transnational Corporate Accountability

Abstract

There are growing cases and literature on the accountability of multinational corporations for their human
rights abuses in developing countries and the overall implications of such violations for sustainable
development. Courts in developed countries continue to declare corporate responsibility, using various
approaches either under tort law or international human rights principles. These cases point to a growing
corporate accountability norm that is changing the narrative that MNCs are not responsible for the actions of
their subsidiaries in developing countries. This article examines how the Community Court of Justice of the
Economic Community of West African States (ECCJ) can, through creative and purposeful interpretation of
international guidance instruments, influence the obligatory implications of corporate responsibility in
international human rights law. In doing this, it argues that the ECCJ must reconsider its stance on the status
of State-owned Enterprises before the court.