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Are African regional trade agreements intended to create legally binding obligations?

Arinze Bryan Okiche

Journal of International Economic Law2026https://doi.org/10.1093/jiel/jgag009article
ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

Non-compliance with legal obligations in African Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) is a recurring issue affecting the effectiveness of African economic integration since the post-independence era. Yet it remains, at least conceptually, an under-researched area in the scholarly literature. The mainstream approach mostly blames the lack of political will on the part of African States as the reason why they do not comply with their RTA obligations. This article reorients the academic debate on compliance by problematizing the perceived normativity of African RTAs by African States. It identifies the concept of implicit flexibility as providing an explanation for the non-compliance problem. At the same time, it raises questions about whether RTAs in Africa were intended to create binding obligations in the first instance. It then evaluates the possible implications of implicit flexibility for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/jiel/jgag009

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@article{arinze2026,
  title        = {{Are African regional trade agreements intended to create legally binding obligations?}},
  author       = {Arinze Bryan Okiche},
  journal      = {Journal of International Economic Law},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/jiel/jgag009},
}

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Are African regional trade agreements intended to create legally binding obligations?

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.