Abstract:
The legitimacy of the State and an organization cannot be disconnected from law, for law is what connects people to government both substantively and symbolically. It provides a frame of reference for the conduct of ordinary citizens as well as linking the organization with a moral order. Consequently, the courts will be one of the first institutions to suffer from a decline of legitimacy. At the same time, the court's activities will also arrest or push forward an incipient decline in legitimacy. Law, it is true, and courts to a degree, have a life of their own (aln Watson, 1978). Yet, the legal system is not totally insulated from the society, and becomes less so during periods of stress.
Therefore, for a body to be recognized as being valid, it must be legitimate. Whereas its legitimacy is challenged as when there is conflict, there will be need for an Arbitration agency or an interpreting organ, which will always facilitate resolution of conflicts. Therefore the community court of justice will help in interpreting and maintaining all that ECOWAS stands for in good time and in bad time. The community court of justice is a symbol of unity and justice for the West African sub region and the world at large.
