1. There is hereby established a Parliament of the Community.
2. The method of election of the Members of the Community Parliament, its composition, functions, powers and organization shall be defined in a Protocol relating thereto.
Article 14. The Economic and Social Council
1. There is hereby established an Economic and Social Council which shall have an advisory role and whose composition shall include representatives of the various categories of economic and social activity.
2. The composition, functions and organization of the Economic and Social Council shall be defined in a Protocol relating thereto.
Article 15. The Court of Justice Establishment and Functions
1. There is hereby established a Court of Justice of the Community.
2. The status, composition, powers, procedure and other issues concerning the Court of Justice shall be as set out in a Protocol relating thereto.
3. The Court of Justice shall carry out the functions assigned to it independently of the Member States and the institutions of the Community.
4. Judgements of the Court of Justice shall be binding on the Member States, the Institutions of the Community and on individuals and corporate bodies.
Article 16. Arbitration Tribunal Establishment and Functions
1. There Is Hereby Established an Arbitration Tribunal of the Community.
2. The status, composition, powers, procedure and other issues concerning the Arbitration Tribunal shall be as set out in a Protocol relating thereto.
Article 17. The Executive Secretariat Establishment and Composition
1. There is hereby established an Executive Secretariat of the Community.
2. The Secretariat shall be headed by the Executive Secretary assisted by Deputy Executive Secretaries and such other staff as may be required for the smooth functioning of the Community.
Article 18. Appointments
1. The Executive Secretary shall be appointed by the Authority for a four-year term renewable only once for another four-year period. He can only be removed from office by the Authority upon its own initiative or on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers.
2. The Ministerial Committee on the Selection and Evaluation of the Performance of Statutory Appointees shall evaluate the three (3) candidates nominated by the Member State to which the statutory post has been allocated and make recommendations to the Council of Ministers. Council shall propose to the Authority the appointment of the candidate adjudged the best.
3. The Executive Secretary shall be a person of proven competence and integrity, with a global vision of political and economic problems and regional integration.
4. (a) The Deputy Executive Secretaries and other Statutory Appointees shall be appointed by the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Ministerial Committee on the Selection and Evaluation of the Performance of Statutory Appointees following the evaluation of the three (3) candidates nominated by their respective Member States to whom the posts have been allocated. They shall be appointed for a period of four years renewable only once for a further four-year term.
(b) Vacancies shall be advertised in all Member States to which statutory posts have been allocated.
5. In appointing professional staff of the community, due regard shall be had, subject to ensuring the highest standards of efficiency and technical competence, to maintaining equitable geographical distribution of posts among nationals of all Member States.
Article 19. Functions
1. Unless otherwise provided in the Treaty or in a Protocol, the Executive Secretary shall be the chief executive officer of the Community and all its institutions.
2. The Executive Secretary shall direct the activities of the Executive Secretariat and shall, unless otherwise provided in a Protocol, be the legal representative of the Institutions of the Community in their totality.
3. Without prejudice to the general scope of his responsibilities, the duties of the Executive Secretary shall include: (a) execution of decisions taken by the Authority and application of the regulations of the Council; (b) promotion of Community development programmes and projects as well as multinational enterprises of the region;
(c) convening as and when necessary meetings of sectoral Ministers to examine sectoral issues which promote the achievement of the objectives of the Community;
(d) preparation of draft budgets and programmes of activity of the Community and supervision of their execution upon their approval by Council;
(e) submission of reports on Community activities to all meetings of the Authority and Council;
ff) preparation of meetings of the Authority and Council as well as meetings of experts and technical commissions and provision of necessary technical services;
(g) recruitment of staff of the Community and appointment to posts other than statutory appointees in accordance with the Staff Rules and Regulations;
(h) submission of proposals and preparation of such studies as may assist in the efficient and harmonious functioning and development of the Community;
(i) initiation of draft texts for adoption by the Authority or Council.
Article 20. Relations between the Staff of the Community and Member States
1. In the performance of their duties, the Executive Secretary, the Deputy Executive Secretaries, and other staff of the Community shall owe their loyalty entirely and be accountable only to the Community. In this regard, they shall neither seek nor accept. Instructions from any government or any national or international authority external to the Community. They shall refrain from any activity or any conduct incompatible with their status as international civil servants.
2. Every Member State undertakes to respect the international character of the office of the Executive Secretary, the Deputy Executive Secretaries, and other staff of the Community and undertakes not to seek to influence them in the performance of their duties.
3. Member States undertake to cooperate with the Executive Secretariat and other institutions of the Community and to assist them in the discharge of the duties assigned to them under this Treaty.
Article 21. Fund for Cooperation, Compensation and Development Establishment, Status and Functions
1. There is hereby established a Fund for Cooperation, Compensation and Development of the Community.
2. The status, objectives and functions of the fund are defined in the Protocol relating thereto.
Article 22. Technical Commissions Establishment and Composition
1. There is hereby established the following Technical Commissions:
(a) Food and Agriculture;
(b) Industry, Science and Technology and Energy;
(c) Environment and Natural Resources;
(d) Transport, Communications and Tourism;
(e) Trade, Customs, Taxation, Statistics, Money and Payments;
f) Political, Judicial and Legal Affairs, Regional Security and Immigration;
(g) Human Resources, Information, Social and Cultural Affairs; and
(h) Administration and Finance Commission.
2. The Authority may, whenever it deems appropriate, restructure the existing Commissions or establish new Commissions.
3. Each commission shall comprise representatives of each Member State.
4. Each Commission may, as it deems necessary, set up subsidiary commissions to assist it in carrying out its work. It shall determine the composition of any such subsidiary commission.
Article 23. Functions
Each Commission Shall, within Its Field of Competence:
(a) prepare Community projects and programmes and submit them for the consideration of Council through the Executive Secretary, either on its own initiative or at the request of Council or the Executive Secretary;
(b) ensure the harmonization and coordination of projects and programmes of the Community;
(c) monitor and facilitate the application of the provisions of this Treaty and related Protocols pertaining to its area of responsibility;
(d) carry out any other functions assigned to it for the purpose of ensuring the implementation of the provisions of this Treaty.
Article 24. Meetings
Subject to any directives given by the Council, each Commission shall meet as often as necessary. It shall prepare its rules of procedure and submit them to the Council for approval.
Chapter IV. COOPERATION IN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
Article 25. Agricultural Development and Food Security
1. Member States shall cooperate in the development of agriculture, forestry, livestock and fisheries in order to:
(a) ensure food security;
(b) increase production and productivity in agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forestry, and improve conditions of work and generate employment opportunities in rural areas;
(c) enhance agricultural production through processing locally, animal and plant products; and
(d) protect the prices of export commodities on the international market.
2. To this end, and in order to promote the integration, of production structures, Member States shall cooperate in the following fields:
(a) the production of agricultural inputs, fertilizers, pesticides, selected seeds, Agricultural machinery and equipment and veterinary products;
(b) the development of river and lake basins;
(c) the development and protection of marine and fishery resources;
(d) plant and animal protection;
(e) the harmonization of agricultural development strategies and policies particularly pricing and price support policies on the production, trade and marketing of major agricultural products and inputs; and
f) the harmonization of food security policies paying particular attention to:
(i) the reduction of losses in food production;
(ii) the strengthening of existing institutions for the management of natural calamities, agricultural diseases and pest control;
iii) the conclusion of agreements on food security at the regional level; and
(iv) the provision of food aid to Member States in the event of serious food shortage.
(g) the establishment of an early warning system; and
(h) the adoption of a common agricultural policy especially in the fields of research, training, production, preservation, processing and marketing of the products of agriculture, forestry, livestock and fisheries.
Chapter V. Cooperation In Industry, Science and Technology and Energy
Article 26. Industry
1. For the purpose of promoting industrial development of Member States and integrating their economies, Member States shall, harmonize their industrialization policies.
2. In this connection, Member States shall:
(a) strengthen the industrial base of the Community, modernise the priority sectors and foster self-sustained and self-reliant development;
promote joint industrial development projects as well as the creation of multinational enterprises in priority industrial sub-sectors likely to contribute to the development of agriculture, transport and communications, natural resources and energy.
3. In order to create a solid basic for industrialization and promote collective self reliance, Member States shall:
ensure, on the one hand, the development of industries essential for collective self- reliance and, on the other, the modernization of priority sectors of the economy especially:
(i) food and agro-based industries;
(ii) building and construction industries;
(iii) metallurgical industries;
(iv) mechanical industries;
(v) electrical, electronics and computer industries;
(vi) pharmaceutical, chemical and petrochemical industries;.
(vii) forestry industries;
(viii) energy industries;
(ix) textile and leather industries;
(x) transport and communications industries;
(xi) bio-technology industries;
(xii) tourist and cultural industries.
(b) give priority and encouragement to the establishment and strengthening of private and public multinational industrial projects likely to promote integration;
(c) ensure the promotion of medium and small-scale industries;
(d) promote intermediate industries that have strong linkages to the economy in order to increase the local component of industrial output within the Community;
(e) prepare a regional master plan for the establishment of industries particularly those whose construction cost and volume of production exceed national, financial and absorptive capacities;
(f) encourage the establishment of specialised institutions for the financing of West African multinational industrial projects;
(g) facilitate the establishment of West African multinational enterprises and encourage the participation of West African entrepreneurs in the regional industrialization process;
(h) promote the sale and consumption of strategic industrial products manufactured in Member States;
(i) promote technical cooperation and the exchange of experience in the field of industrial technology and implement technical training programmes among Member States;
(j) establish a regional data and statistical information base to support industrial development at the regional and continental levels;
(k) promote, on the basis of natural resource endowments, industrial specialization in order to enhance complementarity and expand the intra-Community trade base; and
(l) a adopt common standards and appropriate quality control systems.
Article 27. Science and Technology
Member States shall:
(a) strengthen their national scientific and technological capabilities in order to bring about the socio economic transformation required to improve the quality of life of their population;
(b) ensure the proper application of science and technology to the development of agriculture, transport and communications, industry, health and hygiene, energy, education and manpower and the conservation of the environment;
(c) reduce their dependence on foreign technology and promote their individual and collective technological self-reliance;
(d) cooperate in the development, acquisition and dissemination of appropriate technologies; and
(e) strengthen existing scientific research institutions and take all necessary measures to
prepare and implement joint scientific research and technological development programmes.
2. In their cooperation in this field, Member States shall:
(a) harmonize, at the Community level, their national policies on scientific and technological research with a view to facilitating their integration into the national economic and social development plans;
(b) coordinate their programmes in applied research, research for development, scientific and technological services;
(c) harmonize their national technological development plans by placing special emphasis on indigenous and adapted technologies as well as their regulations on industrial property and transfer of technology;
(d) coordinate their positions on all scientific and technical questions forming the subject of international negotiations;
(e) carry out a permanent exchange of information and documentation and establish Community data networks and data banks;
(f) develop joint programmes for training scientific and technological cadres, including the training and further training of skilled manpower;
(g) promote exchanges of researchers and specialists among Member States in order to make full use of the technical skills available within the Community; and
(h) harmonize the educational systems in order to adapt better educational, scientific and technical training to the specific development needs of the West African environment.
Article 28. Energy
1. Member States shall coordinate and harmonize their policies and programmes in the field of
2. To this end, they shall:
(a) ensure the effective development of the energy resources of the region;
(b) establish appropriate cooperation mechanisms with a view to ensuring a regular supply of hydrocarbons;
(c) promote the development of new and renewable energy particularly solar energy in the framework of the policy of diversification of sources of energy;
(d) harmonize their national energy development plans by ensuring particularly the inter- connection of electricity distribution networks.
(e) Articulate a common energy policy, particularly, in the field of research, exploitation, production and distribution;
(f) establish an adequate mechanism for the collective solution of the energy development problems within the Community, particularly those relating to energy transmission, the shortage of skilled technicians and financial resources for the implementation of energy projects of Member States.
Chapter VI . Cooperation In Environment and Natural Resources
Article 29. Environment
1. Member States undertake to protect, preserve and enhance the natural environment of the region and cooperate in the event of natural disasters.
2. To this end, they shall adopt policies, strategies and programmes at national and regional levels and establish appropriate institutions to protect. preserve and enhance the environment, control erosion, deforestation, desertification, locusts and other pests.
Article 30. Hazardous and Toxic Wastes
1. Member States undertake, individually and collectively, to take every appropriate step to prohibit the importation, transiting, dumping and burying of hazardous and toxic wastes in their respective territories.
2. They further undertake to adopt all necessary measures to establish a regional dump-watch to prevent the importation, transiting, dumping and burying of hazardous and toxic wastes in the region.
Article 31. Natural Resources
1. Member States shall harmonize and coordinate their policies and programmes in the field of natural resources.
2. To this end, they shall:
(a) seek better knowledge and undertake an assessment of their natural resources potential;
(b) improve methods of pricing and marketing of raw materials through a concerted policy;
(c) exchange information on the prospection, mapping, production and processing of mineral resources, as well as on the prospection, exploitation and distribution of water resources;
(d) coordinate their programmes for development and utilization of mineral and water resources;
(e) promote vertical and horizontal inter-industrial relationships which may be established among Member States in the course of developing such resources;
(f) promote the continuous training of skilled manpower and prepare and implement joint training and further training programmes for cadres in order to develop the human resources and the appropriate technological capabilities required for the exploration, exploitation and processing of mineral and water resources;
(g) coordinate their positions in all international negotiations on raw materials; and
(h) develop a system of transfer of expertise and exchange of scientific, technical and economic remote sensing data among Member States.
Chapter VII. Cooperation In Transport, Communications and Tourism
Article 32. Transport and Communications
1. For the purpose of ensuring the harmonious integration of the physical infrastructures of Member States and the promotion and facilitation of the movement of persons, goods and services within the Community. Member States undertake to:
(a) evolve common transport and communications policies, laws and regulations;
(b) develop an extensive network of all-weather highways within the Community, priority being given to the inter-State highways;
(c) formulate plans for the improvement and integration of railway and road networks in the region;
(d) formulate programmes for the improvement of coastal shipping services and inter- state inland waterways and the harmonization of policies on maritime transport and services;