Legitimacy of Regional Economic Integration Courts in Africa

The expansion of economic integration initiatives in Africa has been accompanied by an increase in the number of regional courts currently operating on the continent. Four of these courts have been particularly active, spinning off judgments on issues ranging from the legality of national elections to the free movement of persons. There is a modest but growing body of scholarship on the jurisprudence of the courts. However, to date, there has been little or no attempt in the academic literature to examine the legitimacy of the courts. The issue of the courts' legitimacy is important because of the potential impact of their judgments on national legal systems and policies. This paper examines that issue. While acknowledging that the concept of legitimacy is not free of debate, it identifies a number of factors that influence the legitimacy of international courts and applies them to the regional courts. An earlier draft of this paper was presented at a workshop on the legitimacy of international courts at the Centre for International and Comparative Law, Duke University School of Law.