Analysis

This commentary responds to Fernando C. Saldivar's article 'Africa in the Economy of Francesco'. This commentary focuses on the author's main argument, which grows from the view that the tax justice movement needs to involve Catholic Social Teaching as an intellectual and moral ally in the fight for systemic reform in the global financial order. The article's main claim is critiqued on two fronts. Firstly, this commentary questions whether a moral backbone, particularly the Catholic moral niche, is sufficient to prevent tax evasion and tax avoidance by MNCs. And secondly, it is argued that the article could have advanced a deeper analysis if it had explored the nature of tax law from both the perspective of its 'spirit' aspect and its more technical aspects.

An efficient and effective regional integration in Africa is impossible without the inclusion of women.” Since time immemorial, African women have engaged in trade and are agents of development in formal and informal sectors. Women constitute half of the world’s population, with more than 70 percent of cross-border trade being conducted by women. These women are not a homogenous group and have different experiences. Therefore, it is essential that women, as the subject of policy, spearhead regional integration in Africa. This paper asserts that one of the reasons for the stagnated pace of regional integration in Africa is due to the failure to include women in the regional integration process.

There is a relationship between Foreign direct investment (FDI) and gender (in)equality. This relationship is premised on two assumptions. The first is that FDI contributes to gender equality, and the second is that FDI may indeed be the shackle to gender equality. The first assumption is more popular than the second as its reality is more visible to the public compared to the second. In evaluating the first assumption, it is undeniable that FDI is one of the factors that contribute to the economic growth of a country as it adds to a country’s capital stock. Studies have shown a positive relation between FDI and the Gender Development Index (GDI). Based on these studies, an inference is drawn that there is an increase in gender equality as a result of more FDI

This blog argues that the conservation of the environment is essential to the realisation of sustainable development. Environmental conservation can be achieved by having express inclusion of environmental protection provisions in BITs. Where such provisions are lacking, it may be difficult for a third-world country to argue that measures that directly or indirectly expropriate an investor's investment were taken to protect the environment. critiqued the Ugandan Model BIT for lacking provisions on the conservation and protection of the environment in FDI. Using the Morocco-Nigeria BIT as a case study and the increasing environmental degradation in Uganda, the blog has recommended that the Ugandan Model BIT be reviewed and amended to safeguard the environment.critiqued the Ugandan Model BIT for lacking provisions on the conservation and protection of the environment in FDI. Using the Morocco-Nigeria BIT as a case study and the increasing environmental degradation in Uganda, the blog has recommended that the Ugandan Model BIT be reviewed and amended to safeguard the environment. Further, it critiques the Ugandan Model BIT for lacking provisions on the conservation and protection of the environment in FDI. Using the Morocco-Nigeria BIT as a case study and the increasing environmental degradation in Uganda, the blog has recommended that the Ugandan Model BIT be reviewed and amended to safeguard the environment.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aims to achieve the expansion of intra- African trade through the harmonisation and coordination of trade liberalisation and facilitation across Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Africa in general and "enhance competitiveness at the industry and enterprise level through exploiting opportunities for scale production, continental market access and better reallocation of resources". Negotiations for the Phase II Protocols of the AfCFTA are ongoing. Of particular importance to this paper will be the Protocol on Investment which is currently under negotiation. This paper will focus on how the Investment Protocol can contribute to promoting sustainable development on the African continent.

Contemporary scholarship on international investment law (IIL) in Africa has emphasised the 'Africanization' of IIL. This article argues that the presence of a cross-cutting policy vision in the Africanization of IIL should not be viewed as its conceptual sine qua non but as a significant challenge to its end goals.

There is a growing tendency among States to defy, terminate and/or replace their international investment agreements with domestic laws as a reclamation of national sovereignty vis-à-vis international institutions. Thus, international investment law and its reform needs to be informed by research into domestic systems of governance in order to conceptualize better how regional and international law principles are implemented alongside and through the use of domestic legal instruments, but also in order to reform policies within the international investment law or national law context

We hope the papers in this symposium will contribute to the ongoing efforts worldwide to achieve epistemological and methodological diversity in the IEL discipline. As a new Forum, we aim to remain flexible, experimental and responsive to the changing landscape in IEL. We will like to take this opportunity to thank the academics who have supported the Academic Forum over the last two years. We hope we can continue to count on your support as we devise robust and practical ways to decolonise and pluralise IEL research, scholarship and practice as a counterpoint to the dominant Western-centric IEL imagination.

This note discussed how the protection of foreign investors work with the recent investment claim by Zhongshan against Nigeria as an example. It highlighted that investment treaties and investor-State arbitration protect the interests of foreign investors and provide them the mechanism to enforce their acquired rights at the international level. More importantly, the piece argues that the investment award provides an opportunity for lessons for Nigeria, especially on the need for those that act under the mandate of the State, at any level, to be aware of Nigeria’s international obligations, including towards foreign investors and the far-reaching implications of their actions.

Equitable access to medicines and vaccines are key determinants of a country’s resilience to emerging health threats. As the world tries to figure out how to live alongside the SARS-CoV2 virus with the constant threats of emerging variants and new waves, several challenges remain globally for the supply of and access to medicines. For example, the AIDS drugs access crisis, which highlighted the challenges in accessing lifesaving medicines and vaccines. People all over the world are affected by the crisis which is a result of either unavailability or unaffordability.