The Institutional Framework of the EAC
chapter 2 The Institutional Framework of the EAC Wilbert T.K. Kaahwa 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 Conceptual Background In the law of international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), continental organizations such as the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) and regional organizations including the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) the term “institutional framework” often refers to the legal framework that guides the pursuit of such organizations’ objectives. The term can also refer to the sys- tems of formal laws, regulations, and procedures, and informal conventions, customs, and norms that shape socioeconomic activity and behavior. However for the purposes of this book, this Chapter will only highlight the formal orga- nizational set-up established by the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community (“the Treaty”). The second part, the legal framework of the EAC, will be discussed in Chapter 3. The importance and relevance of the institutional framework in the East African Community (EAC) can be traced to three facts. Firstly, the EAC has revived an inter-state co-operation system, whose historical antecedents and systematic development between 1967 and 1977 had given rise to an elaborate organizational framework of organs and service commissions. The Treaty for East African Co-operation 1967 had established institutions such as the East African Authority,1 the East African Legislative Assembly,2 Ministers of the Community,3 the Common Market Council,4 the Communications Council,5 the Economic Consultative and Planning Council,6 the Finance Council7 1 Articles 46–48.
[Show full text]