“As each of us discharges his or her duties in 2017, shall we remain alive of how noble such a mission will be and I wish to call on each of you to build on 2016 achievements bearing in mind the purpose of our commitments,” Justice Sylvain Ore, President of the African Court stated in a New Year message copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra.

The statement acknowledged some eventful and successful moments in 2016 by the African Court, which was climaxed with the celebration of its first decade of operation together with the holding of the 5th High Level Dialogue.

“I was personally very much impressed with the unique level of professional and personal involvement that you all put into making 2016 a successful year both as a team and individually. “With respect to the last quarter of the year in particular, we can all be proud of the outstanding manner in which we handled two major gathering and two sessions almost concurrently yet with a remarkable success,” the statement stated.

The African Court is composed of 11 judges, nationals of Member States of the African Union elected in their individual capacity and it meets four times in a year in Ordinary Sessions and may meet in Extra-Ordinary Session.

By November, 20, 2016, the African Court had received 119 applications of which 32 were finalised. Four applications were transferred to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.