Document Type
Editorial
Publication Date
4-9-2019
Keywords
Dispute Settlement Mechanisms, AfCFTA, Free Trade, Trade Agreement, Africa
Abstract
An effective Dispute Settlement Mechanisms (DSM) upholds a rules-based trade regime; enunciates, clarifies and develops the jurisprudence of its constituent trade agreement; and also ensures predictability in the trading regime. Article 20 of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) establishes the DSM. The AfCFTA Protocol on Dispute Settlement (“Dispute Protocol”) provides for the rules and procedures for the settlement of disputes. Unlike the majority of the African regional economic community courts that are modelled after the Court of Justice of the European Union, the AfCFTA-DSM follows a handful of other regional judicial bodies – such as the Southern African Community Development Community (SADC) and the Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement (TFTA) – that are modelled after the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism.
Recommended Citation
Olabisi D Akinkugbe, "What the African Continental Free Trade Agreement Protocol on Dispute Settlement says about the culture of African States to Dispute Resolution" (9 April 2019), online (blog): AfronomicsLaw < http://www.afronomicslaw.org/2019/04/09/what-the-african-continental-free-trade-agreement-protocol-on-dispute-settlement-says-about-the-culture-of-african-states-to-dispute-resolution/ > [https://perma.cc/NPZ6-SRTS].
