Legal Aspects of Economic Integration in Africa

by Oppong, Richard Frimpong

• ISBN13: 9781107007178
• ISBN10: 1107007178
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-08-15
• Publisher: Cambridge Univ Pr

Summary

Richard Frimpong Oppong challenges the view that effective economic integration in Africa is hindered by purely socio-economic, political and infrastructural problems. Inspired by the comparative experiences of other regional economic communities and imbued with insights from constitutional, public and private international law, he argues that even if the socio-economic, political and infrastructural challenges were to disappear, the state of existing laws would hinder any progress. Using a relational framework as the fulcrum of analyzes, he demonstrates that in Africa's economic integration processes, community-state, inter-state and inter-community legal relations have neither been carefully thought through nor situated on a solid legal framework, and that attempts made to provide legal framework have been incomplete and, sometimes, grounded on questionable assumptions. To overcome these problems and aid the economic integration agenda that is essential for Africa's long-term economic growth and development, the author proposes radical reforms to community and national laws.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Africa's economic integration - an introductory overview

Legal framework for managing relational issues

The AU, AEC and regional economic communities

Community-state relations in Africa's economic integration

Relational issues before the community courts

AU/AEC institutions and the enforcement of community law

Implementing community law in African states

Inter-institutional relations: public-private international law dimensions

Interstate relations, economic transactions and private international law

Conclusion

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