Given the promising potential for deeper trade and investment relationships between both regions, there is a dearth of scholarly analysis on the Africa-Caribbean economic relationship, which this AfronomicsLaw Symposium aims to address partially. The five essays in this symposium, all authored by well-respected academics and practitioners, explore various themes of the Africa-Caribbean relationship. The essays all refer to the shared bonds of history and the need for more significant action on both sides to actualise a mutually beneficial region-to-region relationship. All of the essays offer innovative recommendations for deepening Africa-Caribbean relations.

The News and Events published every week include conferences, major developments in the field of International Economic Law in Africa at the national, sub-regional and regional levels as well as relevant case law.

In order to decide whether to include IF in the AfCFTA and how, African policymakers should be aware of all these different approaches and dynamics around Investment Facilitation to be able to set their own priorities in this relatively “new” area in international investment law, crafting an innovative and holistic approach for their future investment protocol. To date, international and regional approaches in IF are still in the making – making it easier for policymakers to identify what works best for Africa. In the process, policymakers can also leverage their own cutting-edge reform efforts on investment protection and regulation, and set a regional standard as a rule-maker – which could, in turn, influence ongoing or other future global processes on this topic.

The global Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented shock hopefully many of us will not be alive to see another as disruptive and pervasive as this one. A health crisis that shut down the entire global economic and trading ecosystem for close to a year; a health crisis that has and continues to reconstitute human beings natural social conditioning; a health crisis that has demonstrated political rhetoric does exactly what it says on the tin ‘listen to my words but don’t see my actions’; and a health crisis that brazenly exposed the insatiable appetite for profit, inequality, and power. Indeed, the global pandemic, 18 months later, is proving that walking and chewing gum is a sticky situation for those who believe in the orthodoxy. This blog is a follow-up to a piece I wrote slightly over a year ago that focussed on the Kenya, and with the benefit of hindsight these reflections do ring true for several corners of the continent. As we begin to consider a world post pandemic, I present my 4Rs of Covid-19 of ‘Reflect’; ‘Repair’; ‘Reboot’; and ‘Revolutionise’ as we aim to build forward together.

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It is apparent that the issue of private creditors in relation to African sovereign debt is a ticking timing bomb in Africa. Africa, though rich in minerals, has slow economic growth and a serious debt problem. There is thus a need for a harmonised legal framework that deals with the issue of sovereign debt, set a limit on debt levels, and outlines how debt restructuring should occur. Africa cannot afford to wait for the active buy-in of other multilateral players in order to develop this legal framework; Africa needs to drive this initiative. In addition, both players—being African countries and private creditors—must take responsibility to avoid reckless lending. This can also be addressed in a much-needed comprehensive legal framework.

This blog piece is a reflection on the core arguments from this conference. Notably, Prof. Arewa explored the broader relationship between Africa and international law governance. Within this general theme, Prof. Arewa discussed the link between copy-and-paste laws, the relationship between internal and external legal perspectives, the importance of measurement systems, the lack of understanding of our legal systems, and Africa's place in the COVID-19 vaccine struggle. This piece will evaluate Prof. Arewa and other speakers' thoughts on how COVID-19 brought Africa's broader problems into light, as well as the measures that could be taken to pivot for effective African solutions. This piece will specifically outline the speakers' views on the place and benefits of regional integration and the emerging digital economy's benefits to Africa. Finally, the piece will conclude by drawing the recommendations made as a way forward for Africa.

The COMESA Competition Commission (CCC) has been recognized as the most established regional competition authority so far in Africa. However, the CCC’s enforcement of the 2004 COMESA Competition Regulations (the “Regulations”) has not been easy. It has been marred with challenges. For instance, the launch of CCC –although established in 2004–faced backlash from some of the COMESA Member States, COMESA national competition agencies (NCAs), lawyers, and the business community even before it became operational. That is why it took almost a decade, in 2013, for CCC to commence enforcement of the Regulations. Despite these challenges, on 14th January 2023, CCC will be celebrating a decade of existence. If so, how has CCC enhanced the enforcement of the regional competition laws and what lessons can young and emerging regional competition regimes (RCRs) learn from CCC? In this blog article, we discuss the strategies that CCC has adopted in building its authority and strengthening cooperation with NCAs and other stakeholders in the enforcement of the COMESA regional competition law.

Welcome to the Fifth Afronomicslaw.org Indaba. Indaba is a Zulu and Xhosa word that refers to a meeting to discuss a serious topic – it also refers to a discussion on a matter of concern or for discussion. Our guest for the Afronomicslaw's Fifth Indaba is Professor Anna Gelpern, the Anne Fleming Research Professor at Georgetown Law and a non-resident senior fellow at the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics. Her Conversation with our Professor James T. Gathii focuses on "Understanding Sovereign Debt Today".

The News and Events published every week include conferences, major developments in the field of International Economic Law in Africa at the national, sub-regional and regional levels as well as relevant case law.