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Court Of Justice Of The Common Market For Eastern And Southern Africa - Description [2004] PICTRes 14 (18 April 2004)
Court Of Justice Of The Common Market For Eastern And Southern Africa
The
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa was created in 1994,
on the blue print of the European Communities, to foster the economic
development of the States
of the region. Such a goal is to be attained
by removing the structural and institutional weaknesses plaguing member
States and by pooling their resources. The ultimate objective is to create
a sub-regional common market and eventually
an economic community. The
COMESA agreement replaces the ineffective Preferential Trade Area for
Eastern and Southern
Africa (PTA), which was operational since 1984.
Under the COMESA Treaty, member States are called to cooperate in all
areas of economic activity, including trade
promotion, monetary and financial
cooperation, development of agriculture, investment, and improvement of
transport
and communications. COMESA also promotes peace, security, and
stability among member States in order to enhance economic
development
in the region.
To oversee the implementation of the COMESA agreement, the Treaty established
a Court of Justice, modeled along
the lines of the Court of Justice of
the European Communities. Hence, the COMESA Court adjudicates on disputes
between member States against one another, or on references by the COMESA
Council or the Secretary General against a member
State for infringement
of or failure to fulfill a Treaty provision. The COMESA Court can also
hear a reference
from a member State or any legal and natural person resident
in a member State, concerning the legality of any act, regulation,
directive,
or decision of the COMESA Council. Under the previous Treaty Establishing
the PTA, these functions were
to be carried out by the PTA Tribunal.
Furthermore, the COMESA Court has jurisdiction over COMESA employees and
third parties against COMESA or its institutions
(a function previously
carried out by the PTA Administrative Appeals Board), and can act as an
arbitral tribunal
on any matter arising from a contract to which COMESA
or any of its institutions is a party (a function similar to that
carried
out by the former PTA Centre for Commercial Arbitration). To date, four
cases have been submitted to the
COMESA Court and this sets it apart from
many similar judicial bodies created by past attempts at African regional
and sub-regional economic integration.
Data obtained from the Project on International Courts and Tribunals (PICT)
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URL: http://www.worldlii.org/int/other/PICTRes/2004/14.html
