A Jigsaw Puzzle or a Map? The Role of Treaties under Kenya's Constitution

2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-50
Author(s):  
Archibold Ombongi Nyarango
Keyword(s):  
Jigsaw Puzzle ◽  
East African ◽  
East African Community ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Domestic Legislation ◽  
Domestic Courts ◽  
African Community ◽  
First Time ◽  
Domestic Law

AbstractKenya's 2010 Constitution marks the first time that treaty law has been constitutionally declared part of Kenya's domestic law. However, the laconic drafting of the relevant provision leaves unanswered questions about the role of treaties. This article seeks to answer some of those questions, addresses conflicts between treaties and other laws, and concludes that treaties can be directly enforceable in domestic law unless they are expressly non-self-executing. Furthermore, domestic courts must apply treaties in accordance with the constitution, although the article also addresses the problems that this causes with article 103 of the UN Charter and the East African Community Treaty. Treaties that are applied directly domestically should be considered at a par with statutes enacted by the national Parliament and prevail over county laws. Human rights treaties should carry greater weight than conflicting statutes. Where a treaty is implemented into domestic legislation, the “parent” treaty should prevail where there is a conflict.

ASSESSING AFRICAN REGIONAL INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTS AND INVESTOR–STATE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-232
Author(s):  
Mmiselo Freedom Qumba
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
East African ◽  
African Countries ◽  
East African Community ◽  
Domestic Courts ◽  
African Community ◽  
The Common ◽  
Local Courts ◽  
Eastern And Southern Africa ◽  
Investment Agreements

AbstractThis article examines the rejection of the International Investor–State dispute (ISDS) system across the African continent and its replacement with a range of domestic and regional alternatives. It assesses the advantages of the two principal options for African countries: retaining the current ISDS system, or using local courts and regional tribunals. To this end, the dispute resolution mechanisms proposed in the Pan-African Investment Code, the 2016 Southern African Development Community Finance and Investment Protocol, the SADC model BIT, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, Economic Community of West African States and East African Community investment agreements and domestic approaches are critically examined. The argument is then advanced that African countries should not abandon ISDS because replacing it with isolated domestic or regional mechanisms does not reduce any of the risks. In particular, for foreign investors, the risk associated with the adjudication of investment disputes in potentially biased, politically influenced domestic courts may prove too high. African host nations, in turn, risk sending out the wrong message concerning their commitment to the protection of foreign investments. Instead of veering off course, perhaps the time has come for African States to display the political will to remain within the ISDS system and contribute to its reform from within.

Dag Hammerskjöld Seminar on the Legal Aspects of Economic Integration

1970 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-135
Author(s):  
A. M. Akiwumi
Keyword(s):  
Economic Integration ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Common Market ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Main Subject ◽  
East African ◽  
Regional Economic ◽  
East African Community ◽  
African Community ◽  
First Time

This seminar was intended for government servants, primarily from Eastern Africa, who wished to discuss some problems, concerning the establishment and functioning of institutions of regional economic co-operation, with which they were directly involved. The East African Community (E.A.C.) was a timely choice as the main subject for detailed study and discussion, having been established as recently as December 1967; it had for the first time introduced into existing co-operation the concept of a legally regulated common market as an integral part of the Community.

Dominatarian Theory of Regional Integration

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-94
Author(s):  
Francis Onditi
Keyword(s):  
Regional Integration ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Social Force ◽  
East African ◽  
East African Community ◽  
African Community ◽  
African Context ◽  
Main Components

In this article an alternative thinking and methodological approach for the study of regional integration is proposed, addressing the limitations of classical regional integration theories and the new regionalism approach. A ‘dominatarian’ theory is introduced as an alternative analytical framework that exposes meanings attributed to a social force called ‘personness’, and how regions could be (re)constructed through this anthropocentric lens. The East African Community (EAC, henceforth referred to as the Jumuiya) is chosen as a tour de force for regional integration theories. The triadal analysis of the three main components of classical regional integration theories—economy, institutions and politics—reveals the deficiency of these frameworks in explaining the role of ‘personness’ in regional integration processes, especially within the African context. Consequently, the phrase ‘contextual misfitability’ has been coined to describe this condition. The article concludes with a reflection on how meanings are created and re-created from the Darwinian ontologies of natural sciences into social science regimes and its application to regional integration studies.

scholarly journals Rwanda - Burundi: Political Dialogue as a Method of Achieving Agreement

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-115
Author(s):  
Augustin Ndayisaba
Keyword(s):  
Current Situation ◽  
Peaceful Coexistence ◽  
East African ◽  
Economic Stability ◽  
Political Dialogue ◽  
East African Community ◽  
African Community ◽  
To Come ◽  
Regional Effort

The article analyzes the problem associated with the deterioration of relations between Rwanda and Burundi, which, according to various resources, are due to Rwanda’s interference in the internal affairs of Burundi. Special attention is paid to the role of political dialogue in the search for agreement between the two states. Thus, relations deteriorated further after the Bujumbura regime accused Rwanda of involvement in destabilizing the Bujumbura regime as a result of an attempt to support and arm Burundian refugees fleeing Burundi after the failed coup on May 13, 2015, committed against Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza. Rwanda also accuses Burundi of supporting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). This diplomatic crisis requires a regional effort to bring both countries to the negotiating table. In this way, the role of interregional organizations, especially the East African Community (EAC), is more significant in order to encourage both countries to engage in dialogue, taking into account that current diplomacy requires multilateralism to discuss and solve the problem. Political dialogue will help relieve tensions and remedy the situation. However, historical, cultural and linguistic rapprochement, are the basic prerequisites that allow both countries to come to their senses and coexist peacefully. The current situation between Burundi and Rwanda is a time bomb, which poses a threat to the security, political and socio-economic stability of the entire Great Lacs region of Africa. For this, regional communities must ensure that Member States respect the principle of good neighborliness and peaceful coexistence, all in the interest of preventing the risk of any conflict and ensuring geopolitical stability.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document