THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE YAMOUSSOUKRO DECISION By Charles E. Schlumberger Institute of Air and Space Law, Faculty of Law, McGill University, Montreal. February 2009 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) © Charles E. Schlumberger, 2009 THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE YAMOUSSOUKRO DECISION TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.............................................................................................................. v ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. viii RÉSUMÉ........................................................................................................................................ ix INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE YAMOUSSOUKRO DECISION................................................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Early development of air services in Africa ....................................................................... 8 1.2 Post World War II era...................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 2 MAJOR ELEMENTS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE YAMOUSSOUKRO DECISION............................................................................................. 20 2.1 Liberalization of Air Services in Africa............................................................................ 20 2.2 The Yamoussoukro Declaration....................................................................................... 25 2.3 The Yamoussoukro Decision – Main Elements ................................................................ 28 2.4 The Yamoussoukro Decision – Implementation ............................................................... 37 2.5 The Yamoussoukro Decision – Status Quo....................................................................... 44 2.5.1 Policy Implementation............................................................................................ 44 2.5.2 Operational Implementation ................................................................................... 47 2.5.3 The African Air Transport Industry and Liberalization.......................................... 53 2.6 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 56 CHAPTER 3 CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE YAMOUSSOUKRO DECISION...................................... 58 3.1 Introduction...................................................................................................................... 58 3.2 The Treaty of Abuja.......................................................................................................... 59 3.2.1 The Origins of the Treaty of Abuja ........................................................................ 59 3.2.2 The Establishment of the African Economic Community...................................... 63 3.2.3 Ratification and Entry into Force ........................................................................... 67 3.3 Entry into force of the Yamoussoukro Decision............................................................... 68 3.3.1 The Abuja Treaty as Legal Basis of the Yamoussoukro Decision.......................... 68 3.3.2 The Establishment of the African Union ................................................................ 73 3.3.3 The Ratification Period of the Yamoussoukro Decision based on the Abuja Treaty........................................................................................................... 75 3.3.4 The Status of the non-Abuja Treaty States ............................................................. 77 3.3.5 Conclusion about entry into force and Member States of the Yamoussoukro Decision......................................................................................... 83 3.4 Elements of implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision............................................ 84 3.4.1 Establishment of competition rules......................................................................... 84 3.4.2 Establishment of an arbitration procedure.............................................................. 87 3.4.3 Establishment of a Monitoring Body...................................................................... 89 3.4.4 Establishment of an Executing Agency.................................................................. 91 3.4.5 Safety and Security requirements ........................................................................... 94 ii THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE YAMOUSSOUKRO DECISION 3.4.6 Implementation - Condition precedent or subsequent?......................................... 123 3.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 130 CHAPTER 4 REGIONAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE YAMOUSSOUKRO DECISION............................................................................................................................... 132 4.1 North Africa (The Arab Maghreb Union and The League of Arab Nations) ................. 133 4.1.1 The Arab Maghreb Union..................................................................................... 133 4.1.2 The League of Arab States ................................................................................... 143 4.1.3 Conclusion: Arab States and the Yamoussoukro Decision................................... 157 4.2 West & Central Africa (ECOWAS, WAEMU, BAG, and CEMAC)................................ 159 4.2.1 Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)................................. 160 4.2.2 The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) ........................... 167 4.2.3 The Banjul Accord Group of States...................................................................... 196 4.2.4 The Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC).............. 204 4.3 Southern and Eastern Africa (COMESA, SADC, and EAC) .......................................... 218 4.3.1 The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).................... 218 4.3.2 Southern African Development Community (SADC).......................................... 233 4.3.3 East African Community (EAC) .......................................................................... 243 4.4 Law making by Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa ............................. 261 4.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 279 CHAPTER 5 AIR SERVICE MARKETS IN AFRICA AND INDICATIONS OF THE IMPACT OF LIBERALIZATION .............................................................................. 282 5.1 Data source and methodology of analyzing air service markets.................................... 282 5.2 Africa’s air traffic development between 2001 and 2007............................................... 288 5.2.1 Intercontinental air traffic..................................................................................... 288 5.2.2 International air traffic within the African continent (“intra-African” air traffic) 296 5.2.3 Domestic air traffic markets ................................................................................. 306 5.3 Evidence of the impact of the Yamoussoukro Decision on traffic and airline fleets ............................................................................................................................... 310 5.3.1 General traffic analysis......................................................................................... 310 5.3.2 General fleet analysis............................................................................................ 313 5.3.3 The impact of liberalization on traffic and air carriers by region ......................... 316 5.4 Conclusions on the impact of liberalization................................................................... 345 CHAPTER 6 REVIEW OF THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF LIBERALIZATION OF AIR SERVICES IN AFRICA...................................................... 350 6.1 Economic benefits of the air transport sector in general ............................................... 352 6.1.1 The direct, indirect, and induced global effect of air transportation..................... 352 6.1.2 The effect of air transportation on other industries............................................... 356 6.1.3 Social impact of air transportation........................................................................ 362 6.2 Potential impact of liberalization of air transport services ........................................... 364 6.3 Economic significance of the liberalization of air transport services in Africa............. 380 6.4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 386 CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE YAMOUSSOUKRO DECISION........................... 389 iii THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE YAMOUSSOUKRO DECISION ANNEX I – African Prewar Air Routes ................................................................................... 393 ANNEX II – Freedoms of the Air.............................................................................................