Towards a Definition of Ecowas

Territorial Scope

S. B. AJULO

c/o University of Lagos Press, Lagos, Introduction

RINNINGER said: "There is no universally accepted notion of what countries constitute West . " The author of that statement was at pains to describe adequately the territorial scope of the West African sub-region. He is certainly not alone in that school of thought. Article 62(2), of the Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS) signed in Lagos, in 1975, provides: "Any West African state may accede to this Treaty on such terms and conditions as the Authority may determine." If Renninger's statement were read in conjunction with the provision of Article 62(2) of the ECOWAS Treaty, then the question of determining the territorial scope of the ECOWAS Treaty would become obvious. The present paper in- tends to discuss primarily some of the views held on the concept of with a view to determining the territorial scope of the ECOWAS Treaty. Customarily, the territorial scope of a Treaty is defined by the treaty itself. According to Article 29, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, a treaty is binding on each party in respect of its entire territory. Arguably, where a trea- ty institutes an international organisation, the territorial scope of that threaty coincides with the membership of that organisation. In the present paper, the territorial scope of the Treaty will be regarded as coinciding with membership in the Community.

I. Membership

Professor Bowett2 divided membership in contemporary international organisations into two categories: limited and unlimited. For instance, membership in the United Nations, which is a universal international organisation par excellence, is unlimited. By virtue of Articles 3 and 4 of its Charter, membership in the organisation is open to both the "original members" and to "all other peace-loving states of the world" which accept the obligations of the Charter. Thus in an organisation, there may be "original members" and "subsequent members." By contrast, regional international organisations have limited membership; and as a rule, this is determined by geographical continguousness or propinquity of the member states or by their cultural affinity. Articles 4 and 28, of the OAU Charter as well as Article 237, EEC Treaty of Rome, illustrate this. The former limits membership to "in- 32 dependent African States," while the latter limits it to "European States." The concept of "Independent African States" is unequivocal; whereas the concept of "European States" within the context of the EEC Treaty largely depends on the evolution of the community. In international parlance, contemporary Europe is referred to as EAST and WEST, divided along ideological lines. Although the EEC Treaty was and is intended to unite all the peoples of Europe,' the establishment of COM- ECON in 1959 has made it virtually a foregone conclusion that the EEC might not extend its territorial scope beyond the contemporary WEST.4 Be that as it may, the EEC has recorded appreciable territorial gains within the Western Block. Thus from its original membership of six, it rose first to nine, then to ten ; and in all probability, it will increase to twelve, if and ac- cede to the EEC Treaty. In view of the on-going evolution, the concept of Europe as envisaged in the preamble of the EEC Treaty,6 would probably re- main indeterminate for the time being. Like the EEC, the membership clause of the ECOWAS Treaty gives rise to the problem of definition or interpretation of the concept of "West African States." Thus the questions may be posed: What is West Africa? and who are the West Africans? In quest of a clue to these questions, the survey which follows will examine some of the various definitions of West Africa. A proper definition of West Africa may be necessary, because from the aims and objectives of ECOWAS as adumbrated in the preamble and clearly defined in Article 2 of the Treaty, a potential political integration of the sub- region is conceivable. If, indeed, a fusion of all the national boundaries in the sub-region took place, then there would be Community territorial jurisdiction which would embrace Community waters and its territorial sea. And as Pro- fessor Schwarzenberger pointed out, "limitations of territorial jurisdiction by international treaties may affect either the exercise of a State's sovereign rights in a certain part of its territory.... or certain activities of the state in the whole of its territory" . If that doctrine were transposed to the community level, com- munity sovereign rights and obligations would result. The acquired rights and obligations would be valid over a legally defined territorial scope. II. Geographical Perspective

From the available evidence, West Africa was not shown on the world map before the 15th Century. However, in the first reputable map of the then known world, produced in about 150 A.D. by Claudius Ptolemy, Africa was only partially shown because had had contact with the Graeco-Roman world. Indeed, that region was a province of the Roman Em- pire which was called " Provincia Africa" or "Africa Proconsularis. "9 The rest of Africa was then unknown, hence it was called "terra incognita." Thus Ptolemy's s map did not include West Africa. Mercator's Chart, produced about the 15th Century, showed the present outline of Africa. The Portuguese voyages of discovery later unravelled the mystery in which the "terra incognita" was shrouded. The unknown land become known and the cartographers could pro-