Gambiaj.com – (ABUJA, Nigeria) – The ECOWAS Court of Justice has ruled that the Republic of Togo violated Mr. Al-Hassan Dibassi Fadia’s right to a fair trial, as enshrined in Article 7(2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights 1981. Mr. Fadia, a former pilot with ASKY Airlines, claimed that Togo infringed upon his human rights through disciplinary measures imposed by ANAC-Togo, the national civil aviation authority, following allegations of falsifying flight records.

Justice Edward Amoako Asante, President of the Court and judge rapporteur in the case, delivered the judgment. The Court ordered the Republic of Togo to pay Mr. Fadia 15 million CFA francs in general damages and to reverse and expunge the disciplinary measures from its official records.

Mr. Fadia, in his 2023 application to the ECOWAS Court, detailed his career trajectory, highlighting his qualification as an Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) holder in France in 2019, which he converted to a Guinea-Bissau ATPL(A) license. ANAC-Togo validated this license for use with ASKY Airlines, and after further training, he was promoted to captain in November 2020.

The Applicant, who is from Guinea Bissau but resides in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, had contended that the disciplinary measures taken against him and which caused ASKY Airlines to ground him for about 21 months and ultimately terminate his employment as a pilot, violated his right to work.

His ordeal began when, he and two other pilots were later accused by ANAC-Togo of falsifying flight records to obtain their licenses. The Disciplinary Board subsequently withdrew Mr. Fadia’s captaincy license, demoting him to “Pilot in Command under Supervision” (PICUS), leading to his eventual termination from ASKY Airlines.

In his application, Mr. Fadia argued that the disciplinary measures taken against him violated his rights to equality and equal protection of the law, a fair trial, and work.

In its defense, the Republic of Togo stated that irregularities found in another ASKY pilot’s flight records prompted a broader investigation, uncovering fraudulent logbook entries by Mr. Fadia and others. The Togolese authorities maintained that the disciplinary actions were lawful and urged the Court to dismiss Mr. Fadia’s claims.

The ECOWAS Court found that the offenses and sanctions against Mr. Fadia were based on Ministerial Order No. 033/2021/MTRAF of 29 July 2021, enacted after the accusations, thus violating the protection against retroactive application of laws under Article 7(2) of the African Charter. The Article provides that “No one may be condemned for an act or omission which did not constitute a legally punishable offense at the time it was committed”, and “No penalty may be inflicted for an offense for which no provision was made at the time it was committed.”

The Republic of Togo had argued that the Ministerial Order was simply a procedural law passed to implement existing provisions of the Togo Civil Aviation Code 2016 and the National Aeronautic Regulations of Togo.

However, the Court did not find sufficient evidence linking Mr. Fadia’s dismissal by ASKY Airlines directly to the alleged breach of his right to work by Togo. Nor was it convinced that Mr. Fadia faced unjustifiably selective treatment compared to his co-accused pilots.

The judgment was delivered by a panel including Hon. Justice Gberi-Bè Ouattara and Hon. Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma.