Sudan to host COMESA court of justice

LUSAKA, Feb 5, 2004 (Xinhua) — The Sudan’s capital Khartoum will be the permanent seat of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Court of Justice, according to a host agreement signed between COMESA and the Sudan, the COMESA secretariat said in a statement Thursday.

The host agreement was signed in Khartoum on Jan. 26 between Sudan Minister of Justice Ali Mohammed Osam Yassin and COMESA Secretary General Erastus Mwencha.

The location of the COMESA court in Khartoum was decided at the 8th COMESA summit of heads of state and government held in the Sudan in March 2003.

Sudan Minister of Justice Yassin said at the signing ceremony that the location of the court in the Sudan will bring into reality of the objective of COMESA to integrate the region.

He said the Sudan government will provide temporary offices to the court in the short run and will construct a permanent building for the court in the long run.

COMESA Secretary General Mwencha described the Sudan as a committed member of COMESA. He noted that the Sudan is one of the first nine countries to join the COMESA free trade area.

He observed that the court has an important role in the integration process as one of the organs of COMESA.

COMESA is a grouping of 20 African countries with a population of over 380 million and a combined gross domestic product of 388 billion US dollars. It is expected to launch a customs union in December 2004.

The COMESA court is currently located at the COMESA secretariat in Lusaka. It has been in operation since June 1998 when the first group of seven judges were sworn in by the COMESA summit.