Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Table of treaties
- Table of cases (international/regional courts)
- Table of cases (national courts)
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Africa's economic integration – an introductory overview
- 2 Legal framework for managing relational issues
- 3 The AU, AEC and regional economic communities
- 4 Community–state relations in Africa's economic integration
- 5 Relational issues before the community courts
- 6 AU/AEC institutions and the enforcement of community law
- 7 Implementing community law in African states
- 8 Inter-institutional relations: public–private international law dimensions
- 9 Interstate relations, economic transactions and private international law
- 10 Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
2 - Legal framework for managing relational issues
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Table of treaties
- Table of cases (international/regional courts)
- Table of cases (national courts)
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Africa's economic integration – an introductory overview
- 2 Legal framework for managing relational issues
- 3 The AU, AEC and regional economic communities
- 4 Community–state relations in Africa's economic integration
- 5 Relational issues before the community courts
- 6 AU/AEC institutions and the enforcement of community law
- 7 Implementing community law in African states
- 8 Inter-institutional relations: public–private international law dimensions
- 9 Interstate relations, economic transactions and private international law
- 10 Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
At present, the international community is witnessing a proliferation of RECs. They have become a predominant mode for organizing international trade. As of July 2010, the World Trade Organization (WTO) had been notified about 474 regional trade agreements. Each regional trade agreement differs in its ultimate goal; it may create a free trade area, customs union, common market, economic union or complete economic integration. Whichever stage an REC is at, it is undeniable that economic integration results in a juxtaposition of states, laws, legal systems and institutions to achieve a common economic vision. This creates a complex web of relations in which the principal actors are the community, member states, individuals and other international organizations. Accordingly, a fundamental challenge in economic integration is that of structuring and managing the relations between and among these actors. As noted in Chapter 1, relational issues are endemic in economic integration. The extent to which the issues are present in a community, how they are approached and the urgency with which they are addressed have a direct relationship with the stage of integration reached or envisaged. The further economic integration progresses, the more obvious these issues become – and the more immediate the need to address them.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Legal Aspects of Economic Integration in Africa , pp. 30 - 63Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011
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