African Union

There is renewed interest in the Nigeria- Sao Tome and Principle (STP) Joint Development Zone (JDZ). This is explored in a published chapter in the Nigerian Yearbook of International law (with co-authors). This chapter focused on the Nigeria-STP JDZ as an exemplar of a cooperative approach to maritime boundary delimitation and assesses the suitability of the particular JDZ model chosen. Therefore, this appears to be an excellent opportunity to explore the broader theme of maritime boundary zones of Nigerian vis-à-vis international maritime law. This essay argues that joint development in the spirit of a duty to cooperate within the Gulf of Guinea, will represent a Pan-African and sustainable vision, for the future exploration and exploitation of natural resources, including living resources such as Fisheries.

The Second African Union-European Union Ministerial Meeting will take place from today 25th to tomorrow 26th of October October 2021, in Kigali, Rwanda. While today, 25th October 2021, the Senior Officials of the AU and the EU will meet, tomorrow the 26th of October 2021, the Joint AU-EU ministerial meeting will be convened. Prior EU-Africa meetings have focused on issues such as economic cooperation, resilience, peace, security and governance, migration and mobility but not as much on Africa’s pressing sovereign debt crisis. The March 2020 EU-Africa Strategy did not focus on Africa’s debt crisis. It is important that the Second African Union-European Union Ministerial Meeting goes beyond the traditional ACP issues centering around, trade and investment, development cooperation and political dialogue. Africa’s sovereign debt crisis be part of the conversation.

In this presentation, I have argued that the current national conflict of laws regimes to resolve intra-African private cross-border commercial disputes are not fit for purpose. They must be reformed to enable them to deliver on the goals of the AfCFTA. One can expect an increase in private cross-border commercial disputes arising from increased intra-African trade with the implementation of the AfCFTA. It would be unfortunate if all the efforts of member states and the AfCFTA Secretariate are devoted to developing AfCFTA’s inter-state dispute resolution mechanism, and little or nothing is done about the legal framework for resolving cross-border private commercial disputes. This is because most of the trade transactions under AfCFTA would involve private business entities. Their rights need to be protected to ensure certainty and predictability for them.

Gray and Gills (2016) view South-south cooperation (SSC) as an organising concept and a set of practices in pursuit of historical changes through a vision of mutual benefit and solidarity among the disadvantaged of the world system. From this perspective, SSC has become increasingly important as a means for countries within the global south axis to share knowledge, experience, know-how and solutions. In forging these interactions between South-South countries, "horizontality" is pivotal for conveying ideas of trust, mutual benefit and equity among cooperating countries. There has been a longstanding relationship between Africa and the Caribbean, with the two regions historically collaborating in areas of mutual interest at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. This partnership has been renewed over time in keeping with changes in the global political economy. However, while these states continue to cooperate in multiple fora in relation to different issues, economic activity and trade between them remain negligible. This paper argues that there is potential to enhance integration between these two regions by mainstreaming trade relations through a deliberate effort by related governments via SSC.

August 20, 2021

The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, is inviting applications for a new Director

The University of Pretoria wishes to invite applications for the following vacancy at the Centre for Human Rights (an academic department and a non-governmental organisation at the University).

July 2, 2021

Professor Puleng LenkaBula, Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of South Africa, takes pleasure in inviting you to the virtual Inaugural lecture of: 

Professor Babatunde Fagbayibo, College of Law: Department of Public Constitution and International Law

Topic: The Two Eras of Reform Efforts in the African Union (AU): A Politico-Legal Critique

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has been described as the most ambitious project for advancing economic integration on the African continent. The AfCFTA is the African Union’s framework to establish a single continental market for goods and services with free movement of capital and business travelers. AfCFTA presents a chance to defragment the African market, thus enhancing competitiveness and serving as a vehicle to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. It is against this backdrop that the Centre for African Legal Studies at the UPSA Law School (Ghana), in collaboration with the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, is organizing the 1st Africa Trade Roundtable under the theme - “Advancing A Continental Market through the AfCFTA.”

The Afronomicslaw.org Academic Forum invites you to join their next guest lecture series.

May 18, 2021

The South African Research Chair in International Constitutional Law in the Faculty of Law (UP Law) at the University of Pretoria (UP), Prof Dire Tladi, invites applications for full-time Research Master's / Doctoral / Postdoctoral candidates commencing in 2022.

The relevant areas of research to which this call relates are:

(a) The law of International Organizations, including the United Nations and the African Union

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