Legal Aspects of Economic Integration in Africa

Richard Frimpong Oppong argues that radical reforms to community and national laws are needed to ensure economic integration in Africa.

Richard Frimpong Oppong (Author)

9781107007178, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 July 2011

402 pages
23.5 x 16 x 2.2 cm, 0.75 kg

'Legal Aspects of Economic Integration in Africa is an accessible and practical resource for teachers, students, policy leaders, and those with general interest in regional economic integration in Africa. It offers innovative insights on how the process of economic integration can be effectively improved through law by making concrete reform recommendations that will strengthen Africa's international economic relations both at the national and regional levels.' Olabisi D. Akinkugbe, Journal of International Economic Law

Richard Frimpong Oppong challenges the view that effective economic integration in Africa is hindered by purely socio-economic, political and infrastructural problems. Inspired by the comparative experiences of other regional economic communities and imbued with insights from constitutional, public and private international law, he argues that even if the socio-economic, political and infrastructural challenges were to disappear, the state of existing laws would hinder any progress. Using a relational framework as the fulcrum of analyses, he demonstrates that in Africa's economic integration processes, community-state, inter-state and inter-community legal relations have neither been carefully thought through nor situated on a solid legal framework, and that attempts made to provide legal framework have been incomplete and, sometimes, grounded on questionable assumptions. To overcome these problems and aid the economic integration agenda that is essential for Africa's long-term economic growth and development, the author proposes radical reforms to community and national laws.

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.

Subject Areas: Comparative law [LAM], Law [L], Development economics & emerging economies [KCM], African history [HBJH]