Enforcement of Decisions of The East African Court Of Justice: Prospects & Process

An advocate’s work is only as good as the fruits of their judgement. It is important to note that credibility of any judicial system is seriously tarnished when its judicial decisions cannot be enforced. We discuss here how to enforce a decision of the EACJ in national courts.

The Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community 1999 (EAC Treaty) was signed in Arusha on 30th November 1999. This treaty set up a regional Court, the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) established under Article 23 mandated to be a judicial body which shall ensure adherence to law in the interpretation and application of and compliance of the treaty and further under Article 27(1) of the Treaty, the EACJ is clothed with jurisdiction over the interpretation and application of the Treaty.

With this, various cases have been filed in Court by residents against the East African Community (EAC) Partner States and the Secretariat to the EAC on matters of conformity to the treaty. This is because the only parties one can take to Court are the Partner States or the Secretary General of the EAC.