The East African Court of Justice: Weaving Jurisprudential Pathways, 2012–20

Abstract

A reading of the decisions of the East African Court of Justice delivered during its early years portrays an orientation towards the application of common law doctrines. This is not surprising given that the initial litigants, legal Counsel and Judges originated from countries with legal systems sourced from common law; and so, they relied on judicial precedents of national courts and the Court’s predecessor, the Court of Appeal for East Africa. For over a decade now, there’s been a shift as the Court has charted a jurisprudential path reflecting its international character. This paper considers some of the decisions of the Appellate Division which have espoused the primacy of public international law principles and legal instruments; and the inspiration drawn from the jurisprudence of other international and regional courts in interpreting and applying the East African Community Treaty. Over the years, the Court has continued to uphold deference for rule of law, jurisdictional, procedural and evidential standards in the administration of justice and applied the seldom used dissenting opinion mechanism where necessary.