Title
TREATY FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY
Preamble
WHEREAS the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania have enjoyed close historical, commercial, industrial, cultural and other ties for many years;
AND WHEREAS formal economic and social integration in the East African Region commenced with, among other things, the construction of the Kenya Uganda Railway 1897 – 1901, the establishment of the Customs Collection Centre 1900, the East African Currency Board 1905, the Postal Union 1905, the Court of Appeal for Eastern Africa 1909, the Customs Union 1919, the East African Governors Conference 1926, the East African Income Tax Board 1940 and the Joint Economic Council 1940;
AND WHEREAS provision was made by the East Africa (High Commission) Orders in Council 1947 – 1961, the East African Common Services Organisation Agreements 1961 – 1966, and the Treaty for East African Co-operation 1967 for the establishment respectively, of the East Africa High Commission, the East African Common Services Organisation and the East African Community as successive joint organisations of the said countries to control and administer certain matters of common interest and to regulate the commercial and industrial relations and transactions between the said countries and by means of a central legislature to enact on behalf of the said countries laws relevant to the purposes of the said joint organisations;
AND WHEREAS in 1977 the Treaty for East African Co-operation establishing the East African Community was officially dissolved, the main reasons contributing to the collapse of the East African Community being lack of strong political will, lack of strong participation of the private sector and civil society in the co-operation activities, the continued disproportionate sharing of benefits of the Community among the Partner States due to their differences in their levels of development and lack of adequate policies to address this situation;
AND WHEREAS upon the dissolution of the East African Community the said countries signed on the 14th day of May, 1984, at Arusha, in Tanzania the East African Community Mediation Agreement 1984, hereinafter referred to as “the Mediation Agreement” for the division of the assets and liabilities of the former East African Community;
AND WHEREAS pursuant to Article 14.02 of the Mediation Agreement the said countries agreed to explore and identify areas for future co-operation and to make arrangements for such co-operation;
AND WHEREAS on the 30th day of November, 1993, provision was made by the Agreement for the Establishment of a Permanent Tripartite Commission for Co-operation Between the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania for the establishment of the Permanent Tripartite Commission for Co-operation hereinafter referred to as “the Tripartite Commission” to be responsible for the co-ordination of economic, social, cultural, security and political issues among the said countries and a Declaration was also made by the Heads of State of the said countries for closer East African Co-operation;
AND WHEREAS on the 26th day of November, 1994, provision was made by the Protocol on the Establishment of a Secretariat of the Permanent Tripartite Commission for Co-operation Between the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania, for the establishment of the Secretariat of the Permanent Tripartite Commission for Co-operation Between the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania to act as the Secretariat of the Tripartite Commission, hereinafter referred to as “the Secretariat of the Tripartite Commission”;
AND WHEREAS on the 29th day of April 1997 at Arusha in Tanzania, the Heads of State of the said countries after reviewing the progress made by the Tripartite Commission, in the development of closer co-operation between the said countries in the fiscal, monetary, immigration, infrastructure and service fields and after approving the East African Co-operation Development Strategy for the period 1997 – 2000, directed the Tripartite Commission to embark on negotiations for the upgrading of the Agreement establishing the Tripartite Commission into a Treaty;
AND WHEREAS the said countries, with a view to strengthening their co-operation are resolved to adhere themselves to the fundamental and operational principles that shall govern the achievement of the objectives set out herein and to the principles of international law governing relationships between sovereign states;
AND WHEREAS the said countries, with a view to realising a fast and balanced regional development are resolved to creating an enabling environment in all the Partner States in order to attract investments and allow the private sector and civil society to play a leading role in the socio-economic development activities through the development of sound macro-economic and sectoral policies and their efficient management while taking cognisance of the developments in the world economy as contained in the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organisation, 1995 referred to “as the WTO Agreement” and as may be decided by the Partner States, the development of technological capacity for improved productivity;
AND WHEREAS the said countries desire to foster and to promote greater awareness of the shared interests of their people;
AND WHEREAS the said countries are resolved to act in concert to achieve the objectives set out hereinbefore;
NOW THEREFORE the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania ;
DETERMINED to strengthen their economic, social, cultural, political, technological and other ties for their fast balanced and sustainable development by the establishment of an East African Community, with an East African Customs Union and a Common Market as transitional stages to and integral parts thereof, subsequently a Monetary Union and ultimately a Political Federation;
CONVINCED that co-operation at the sub-regional and regional levels in all fields of human endeavour will raise the standards of living of African peoples, maintain and enhance the economic stability, foster close and peaceful relations among African states and accelerate the successive stages in the realisation of the proposed African Economic Community and Political Union;
AGREE AS FOLLOWS:
Body
Chapter One. Interpretation
Article 1. Interpretation
1. In this Treaty, except where the context otherwise requires –
“Act of the Community” means an Act of the Community in accordance with this Treaty;
“Audit Commission” means the Audit Commission established by Article 134 of this Treaty;
“Assembly” means the East African Legislative Assembly established by Article 9 of this Treaty;
“Attorney General” means the Attorney General of a Partner State;
“Bill” means a Bill of the East African Legislative Assembly;
“civil society” means a realm of organised social life that is voluntary, self generating, self-supporting, autonomous from the state, and bound by a legal set of shared rules;
“Clerk of the Assembly” means the Clerk of the East African Legislative Assembly appointed under Article 48 of this Treaty;
“common carrier” includes a person or an undertaking engaged in the business of providing services for the carriage of goods and passengers for hire and operating as such under the laws of a Partner State;
“common external tariff” means an identical rate of tariff imposed on goods imported from third countries;
“Common Market” means the Partner States’ markets integrated into a single market in which there is free movement of capital, labour, goods and services;
“common standard travel document” means a passport or any other valid travel document establishing the identity of the holder, issued by or on behalf of the Partner State of which he or she is a citizen and shall also include inter-state passes;
“Community” means the East African Community established by Article 2 of this Treaty;
“Contracting Parties” means the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania;
“co-operation” includes the undertaking by the Partner States in common, jointly or in concert, of activities undertaken in furtherance of the objectives of the Community as provided for under this Treaty or under any contract or agreement made thereunder or in relation to the objectives of the Community;
“Co-ordination Committee” means the Co-ordination Committee established by Article 9 of this Treaty;
“Council” means the Council of Ministers of the Community established by Article 9 of this Treaty;
“Counsel to the Community” means the Counsel to the Community provided for under Article 69 of this Treaty;
“countervailing duty” means a specific duty levied for purposes of offsetting a subsidy bestowed directly or indirectly upon the manufacture, production or export of that product;
“Court” means the East African Court of Justice established by Article 9 of this Treaty;
“customs clearing agent” means a person who is licensed in any of the Partner States to provide a service at a fee, in connection with documentation and customs clearance of import and export of consignments of goods;
“designated airline” means an airline which has been designated and authorised by a competent authority of a Partner State to operate the agreed services;
“duty drawback” means a refund of all or part of any excise or import duty paid in respect of goods confirmed to have been exported or used in a manner or for a purpose prescribed as a condition for granting duty drawback.
“East African Industrial Development Strategy” means the strategy provided for under Article 80 of this Treaty;
“East African Law Reports” means the published reports of the judgements of the former Court of Appeal for East Africa and the High Courts of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania;
“East African Trade Regime” means a trade regime provided for under Article 74 of this Treaty;
“elected member” means an elected member of the Assembly elected under Article 50 of this Treaty;
“environment” means the natural resources of air, water, soil, fauna and flora, eco-systems, land, the man-made physical features, cultural heritage, the characteristic aspects of the landscape and the socio-economic interaction between the said factors and any living and non-living organisms;
“equitable distribution of benefits” means fair and proportionate distribution of benefits;
“financial year” means the financial year referred to under Article 132 of this Treaty;
“foreign country” means any country other than a Partner State;
“freight forwarder” means a person engaged at a fee, either as an agent for other transport operators or on his own account, in the management of transport services and related documentation;
“Gazette” means the Official Gazette of the Community;
“gender” means the role of women and men in society;
“Head of Government” means a person designated as such by a Partner State’s Constitution;
“Head of State” means a person designated as such by a Partner State’s Constitution;
“import” with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions means to bring or cause to be brought into the territories of the Partner States from a foreign country;
“indigenous entrepreneur” means a citizen who is a business person of a Partner State but who does not possess a foreign nationality;
“institutions of the Community” means the institutions of the Community established by Article 9 of this Treaty;
“international standards” means standards that are adopted by international standardising or standards organisations made available to the public;
“Judge” means a Judge of the Court serving on the First Instance Division or the Appellate Division;
“judgment” shall where appropriate include a ruling, an opinion, an order, a directive or a decree of the Court;
“Minister” in relation to a Partner State, means a person appointed as a Minister of the Government of that Partner State and any other person, however entitled, who, in accordance with any law of that Partner State, acts as or performs the functions of a Minister in that State;
“multimodal transport” means the transport of goods and services from one point to another by two or more modes of transport on the basis of a single contract issued by the person organising such services and while such person assumes responsibility for the execution of the whole operation and also includes any other similar equipment or facility which may hereafter be used;
“multimodal transport facilities” includes items such as heavy lift swinging devices, twin deck cranes, gantry cranes, elevators, large carriers, mechanised storage, low loaders, access facilities, low-profile straddle carriers, mobile cranes, container gantry cranes, side loaders, heavy duty forklifts, heavy duty tractors, heavy duty trailers, portable ramps, flat wagons (flats) for containers, low tare special user wagons and trucks for containers, pallets, web-slings for pre-slung cargoes for different commodities and any other similar equipment or facility which may hereafter be used;
“National Assemblies” with its grammatical variation and cognate expression means the national legislatures however designated of the Partner States;
“non-tariff barriers” means administrative and technical requirements imposed by a Partner State in the movement of goods;
“organs of the Community” means the organs of the Community established by Article 9 of this Treaty;
“other charges of equivalent effect” means any tax, surtax, levy or charge imposed on imports and not on like locally produced products but does not include fees and similar charges commensurate with the cost of services rendered;
“Partner States” means the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania and any other country granted membership to the Community under Article 3 of this Treaty;
“person” means a natural or legal person;
“principle of asymmetry” means the principle which addresses variances in the implementation of measures in an economic integration process for purposes of achieving a common objective;
“principle of complementarity” means the principle which defines the extent to which economic variables support each other in economic activity;
“principle of subsidiarity” means the principle which emphasises multi-level participation of a wide range of participants in the process of economic integration;
“principle of variable geometry” means the principle of flexibility which allows for progression in co-operation among a sub-group of members in a larger integration scheme in a variety of areas and at different speeds;
“private sector” means the part of the economy that is not owned or directly controlled by a state;
“protocol” means any agreement that supplements, amends or qualifies this Treaty;
“Registrar” means the Registrar of the Court appointed under Article 45 of this Treaty;
“safeguard measures” means the measures taken by any Partner State as provided under Article 78 and 88 of this Treaty as the case may be;
“salary” and “terms and conditions of service” includes wages, overtime pay, salary and wage structures, leave, passages, transport for leave purposes, pensions and other retirement benefits, redundancy and severance payments, hours of duty, grading of posts, medical arrangements, housing, arrangements for transport and travelling on duty, and allowances;
“Secretariat” means the Secretariat of the Community established by Article 9 of this Treaty’;
“Secretary General” means the Secretary General of the Community provided for under Article 67 of this Treaty;
“Sectoral Committees” means Sectoral Committees established by Article 20 of this Treaty;
“Sectoral Council” means the Sectoral Council provided for under Article 14 of this Treaty;
“shipping agent” means a local representative of a shipping company;
“Speaker of the Assembly” means the Speaker of the Assembly provided for under Article 53 of this Treaty.
“subsidy” means a financial contribution by Government or any public body within the territory of a Partner State or where there is any form of income or price support in the sense of Article XVI of GATT 1994;
“Summit” means the Summit established by Article 9 of this Treaty;
“surviving institutions of the former East African Community” means the East African Civil Aviation Academy, Soroti, the East African Development Bank, the East African School of Librarianship and the Inter-University Council for East Africa;
“telecommunications” means any form of transmission, emission or reception signal, writing, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, optical or other electro-magnetic systems;
“trade procedure” means activities related to the collection, presentation, processing and dissemination of data and information concerning all activities constituting international trade;
“Treaty” means this Treaty establishing the East African Community and any annexes and protocols thereto;
2. In this Treaty, a reference to a law or protocol shall be construed as a reference to the law or protocol as from time to time amended, added to or repealed.
Chapter Two. Establishment and Principles of the Community
Article 2. Establishment of the Community
1 By this Treaty the Contracting Parties establish among themselves an East African Community hereinafter referred to as "the Community".
2. In furtherance of the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article and in accordance with the protocols to be concluded in this regard, the Contracting Parties shall establish an East African Customs Union and a Common Market as transitional stages to and integral parts of the Community.
Article 3. Membership of the Community
1. The members of the Community, in this Treaty referred to as “the Partner States”, shall be the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania and any other country granted membership to the Community under this Article.
2. The Partner States may, upon such terms and in such manner as they may determine, together negotiate with any foreign country the granting of membership to, or association of that country with, the Community or its participation in any of the activities of the Community.
3. Subject to paragraph 4 of this Article, the matters to be taken into account by the Partner States in considering the application by a foreign country to become a member of, be associated with, or participate in any of the activities of the Community, shall include that foreign country’s:
(a) acceptance of the Community as set out in this Treaty;
(b) adherence to universally acceptable principles of good governance, democracy, the rule of law, observance of human rights and social justice;
(c) potential contribution to the strengthening of integration within the East African region; 11
(d) geographical proximity to and inter-dependence between it and the Partner States;
(e) establishment and maintenance of a market driven economy; and
(f) social and economic policies being compatible with those of the Community.
4. The conditions and other considerations that shall govern the membership or association of a foreign country with the Community or its participation in any of the activities of the Community shall be as those prescribed in this Article.
5. The granting of observer status with respect to the Community shall:
(a) in case of a foreign country, be the prerogative of the Summit; and
(b) in case of an inter-governmental organization or civil society organisation, be the prerogative of the Council.
6. The procedure to be followed with respect to the foregoing provisions of this Article shall be prescribed by the Council.
Article 4. Legal Capacity of the Community
1. The Community shall have the capacity, within each of the Partner States, of a body corporate with perpetual succession, and shall have power to acquire, hold, manage and dispose of land and other property, and to sue and be sued in its own name.
2. The Community shall have power to perform any of the functions conferred upon it by this Treaty and to do all things, including borrowing, that are necessary or desirable for the performance of those functions.
3. The Community shall, as a body corporate, be represented by the Secretary General.
Article 5. Objectives of the Community
1. The objectives of the Community shall be to develop policies and programmes aimed at widening and deepening co-operation among the Partner States in political, economic, social and cultural fields, research and technology, defence, security and legal and judicial affairs, for their mutual benefit.
2. In pursuance of the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, the Partner States undertake to establish among themselves and in accordance with the provisions of this Treaty, a Customs Union, a Common Market, subsequently a Monetary Union and ultimately a Political Federation in order to strengthen and regulate the industrial, commercial, infrastructural, cultural, social, political and other relations of the Partner States to the end that there shall be accelerated, harmonious and balanced development and sustained expansion of economic activities, the benefit of which shall be equitably shared.
3. For purposes set out in paragraph 1 of this Article and as subsequently provided in particular provisions of this Treaty, the Community shall ensure:
(a) the attainment of sustainable growth and development of the Partner States by the promotion of a more balanced and harmonious development of the Partner States;
(b) the strengthening and consolidation of co-operation in agreed fields that would lead to equitable economic development within the Partner States and which would in turn, raise the standard of living and improve the quality of life of their populations;
(c) the promotion of sustainable utilisation of the natural resources of the Partner States and the taking of measures that would effectively protect the natural environment of the Partner States;
(d) the strengthening and consolidation of the long standing political, economic, social, cultural and traditional ties and associations between the peoples of the Partner States so as to promote a people-centered mutual development of these ties and associations;
(e) the mainstreaming of gender in all its endeavours and the enhancement of the role of women in cultural, social, political, economic and technological development;
(f) the promotion of peace, security, and stability within, and good neighbourliness among, the Partner States;
(g) the enhancement and strengthening of partnerships with the private sector and civil society in order to achieve sustainable socio-economic and political development; and
(h) the undertaking of such other activities calculated to further the objectives of the Community, as the Partner States may from time to time decide to undertake in common.
Article 6. Fundamental Principles of the Community
The fundamental principles that shall govern the achievement of the objectives of the Community by the Partner States shall include:
(a) mutual trust, political will and sovereign equality;
(b) peaceful co-existence and good neighbourliness;
(c) peaceful settlement of disputes;
(d) good governance including adherence to the principles of democracy, the rule of law, accountability, transparency, social justice, equal opportunities, gender equality, as well as the recognition, promotion and protection of human and peoples rights in accordance with the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights;
(e) equitable distribution of benefits; and (f) co-operation for mutual benefit.
Article 7. Operational Principles of the Community
1. The principles that shall govern the practical achievement of the objectives of the Community shall include:
(a) people-centered and market-driven co-operation;
(b) the provision by the Partner States of an adequate and appropriate enabling environment, such as conducive policies and basic infrastructure;
(c) the establishment of an export oriented economy for the Partner States in which there shall be free movement of goods, persons, labour, services, capital, information and technology;
(d) the principle of subsidiarity with emphasis on multi-level participation and the involvement of a wide range of stake- holders in the process of integration;
(e) the principle of variable geometry which allows for progression in co-operation among groups within the Community for wider integration schemes in various fields and at different speeds;
(f) the equitable distribution of benefits accruing or to be derived from the operations of the Community and measures to address economic imbalances that may arise from such operations;
(g) the principle of complementarity; and
(h) the principle of asymmetry.
2. The Partner States undertake to abide by the principles of good governance, including adherence to the principles of democracy, the rule of law, social justice and the maintenance of universally accepted standards of human rights.