Regionalisation through economic integration in the Southern African Development Community SADC (SADC)

[摘要] The regional economic community (REC) of the Southern African DevelopmentCommunity (SADC) compri'ses 15 Southern African countries. The' economic andpolitical aspects of regional integration in SADC dictate the pace of integration while theinfluence of a legal regime for regional integration remains at the periphery. While theSADC Treaty and its Protocol on Trade are clear about the priority of economicintegration; the full implementation of SADC's economic integration is still yet to berealised using these legal instruments. Regional economic integration is also a priorityat both continental and global level. The legal instruments applicable at these levels arethose established through the African Union (AU) and the World Trade Organisation(WTO) respectively. Analysis of these external legal instruments is relevant becauseSADC Member States are signatories to agreements establishing these organisations·.Thus, rules based trade in SADC should be understood from a regional, continental andglobal perspective where a community must have well-structured and managedrelations between itself and other legal systems as a necessary condition for itseffectiveness. These structured relations refers to a legal and institutional frameworkthat defines the relations between community and national laws, spelling out themodalities for implementing community law in Member States, defines the respectivecompetencies of the community and Member States and provide rule based systems forresolution of conflicts.In setting the scene for an in-depth discussion of the legal and institutional frameworkfor regional economic integration in SADC, this study presents the history of SADC, itspolitical and economic characteristics that have shaped the legal aspects of trade withinthe region, the continent of Africa and the world at large. Within this context, thedefinition of regional integration is presented from a general and internationalunderstanding but ultimately gets narrowed down to what it means for Africa and SADC.The discussion on the · theories behind regional economic integration givesunderstanding to the integration approach employed in the organisation. South Africa'seconomic and political leadership is critical in the realisation of economic integration; hence this study acknowledges that without South Africa's full commitment; regionaleconomic integration will suffer .a setback. Besides the challenge of implementing rulesbased trade in SADC, this study also identifies a number of obstacles to SADC regionaleconomic integration and multiple memberships are identified as a: major stumblingblock. A comparative study of SADC's institutional framework with that of the E1;JropeanUnion· (EU) is undertaken to establish the rationale behind SADC's choice of utilising theEU model of integration. This study establishes the critical role institutions play in theimplementation of treaty obligations as established by the agreements. The main lessonfrom this comparative study is that the EU institutions are allowed to fulfill theirobligations of implementing treaty provisions, while SADC institutions are handicapped.The future of SADC is presented within the context of a set of recommendations thatidentifies the tripartite free trade area (FTA) that includes the East Africa Community(EAC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) as one ofviable legal instrument for deeper integration in SADC and the continent of Africa.General recommendations are made on the need for reform of rules and principles thatare necessary for the implementation of SADC Treaty regime as well as possibleimprovements that are important for the full realisation of regional economic integration.

[发布机构] North-West University