Dispute Settlement Mechanisms in African Regional Economic Communities: Lessons and New Developments

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 242-265
Author(s):  
Obert Bore
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Free Trade Area ◽  
World Trade Organisation ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanism ◽  
Trade Disputes ◽  
Regional Economic ◽  
New Developments ◽  
Trade Area ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanisms

Abstract African regional trade agreements often provide for dispute settlement mechanisms and procedures that should be followed. They also establish judicial bodies or tribunals for the respective African Regional Economic Communities. Despite the existence of judicial bodies, African governments do not usually litigate against each other on trade-related disputes. However, the few cases adjudicated by the regional judicial bodies are insightful of how contemporary trade disputes shape the development of community law. With reference to case law, this article presents lessons from regional judicial bodies. Notwithstanding the lessons learnt, there are challenges too. In response to the challenges, new developments on the continent, adopted through the African Continental Free Trade Area signal a move towards respecting rules-based trade through ensuring legal predictability and certainty for trade dispute settlement. Thus, this article will also provide a detailed analysis of the dispute settlement mechanism under the African Continental Free Trade Area, a system akin to World Trade Organisation.

scholarly journals Dispute Settlement under the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement: A Preliminary Assessment

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (Supplement) ◽  
pp. 138-158
Author(s):  
Olabisi D. Akinkugbe
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Free Trade Area ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanism ◽  
Settlement System ◽  
Trade Disputes ◽  
Member States ◽  
Trade Area ◽  
Dispute Settlement System

The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) will add a new dispute settlement system to the plethora of judicial mechanisms designed to resolve trade disputes in Africa. Given the discontent of member states and the limited impact that the existing highly legalised trade dispute settlement mechanisms have had on regional economic integration in Africa, this article undertakes a preliminary critical assessment of the AfCFTA Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM). The article situates the AfCFTA-DSM in the overall discontent and unsupportive practices of African states with highly legalised dispute settlement systems and similar WTO-styled DSMs among other shortcomings. Notwithstanding the transplantation of the WTO-styled DSM and the ineffectiveness of previous similar attempts in Africa, the article argues that the Consultation Phase offers the AfCFTA member states a realistic chance of engaging with the DSM. In conclusion, the article highlights other factors such as private sector involvement, the strategic operationalisation of the DSM, and geopolitical and power dynamics as critical to the success of the dispute settlement system.

THE ROLE OF SADC IN BOOSTING DOMESTIC, REGIONAL, CONTINENTAL AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-98
Author(s):  
Ghazala Begum Essop
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Bilateral Trade ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Free Trade Area ◽  
Customs Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Regional Economic ◽  
Trade Area

The role of regional economic communities in the development of trade in Africa is widely recognised. Currently, intra-African trade stands at 10 per cent. This is in sharp contrast to other developing regions of the world. In Asia and Latin America, the levels of intra-trade are 50 and 26 per cent, respectively. There are a number of reasons accounting for the low level of intra-African trade, including the weak mandate given to regional economic communities to monitor and enforce the commitments assumed by countries under regional trade agreements. The lack of integration has negatively impacted on African countries and affected their ability to attract foreign direct investment commensurate with their development needs. Had African countries been less exposed to external markets, they would have been minimally affected by the global financial crisis. The importance of boosting intra-African trade was highlighted by Africa’s Heads of State and Government when they devoted this year’s summit to this theme. In the run-up to the summit, the African Union Commission released a study that underscored the importance of regional economic communities in the process of economic integration in Africa. Currently, SADC member states are in the process of implementing the SADC Trade Protocol, which would create a fully-fledged free trade area and later a customs union, and at the same time engaged in tripartite negotiations aimed at merging the three (SADC, COMESA and the EAC) regional configurations. They are also engaged in the EPA negotiations with the European Union, which would create a free trade area and also the Doha negotiations under the auspices of the WTO. The main objective of this article is to estimate SADC countries’ bilateral trade potential, which may result in the improvements in trade facilitation.

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