The Southern African Development Community in legal historical perspective

Die Suid-Afrikaanse Ontwikkelingsgemeenskap in 'n regshistoriese perspektief Die artikel ondersoek die institusionele geskiedenis van SADC met die doel om die faktore te bepaal wat bydra tot die stadige vordering na ware ekonomiese integrasie in Suidelike Afrika. SADC se stadige vordering ten aansien van voldoening aan sy institusionele doelstellings kan aan vier nabyverwante faktore toegeskryf word:wanbalans in streekshandel; Suid-Afrika se teensinnigheid teenoor ekonomiese integrasie; gebrek aan politieke wilskrag en/of stabiliteit; en 'n onbereidwilligheid van die SADC lidstate om van elemente van hul ekonomiese soewereiniteit afstand te doen. Gebaseer op lesse wat geรซkstrapoleer is van die historiese analise/ontleding, sluit hierdie artikel af met gedagtes oor wat verlang mag word om spoedige vooruitgang jeens egte ekonomiese integrasie in Suider This article explores the institutional history of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) with a view to isolating the factors and/or forces behind the slow progress of real economic integration in Southern Africa. It finds that SADC's poor track record in delivering on its institutional objectives is attributable to four closely-related factors: regional trade imbalances; South African equivocation towards economic integration; lack of political will and/or stability; and an unwillingness on the part of SADC Member States to surrender some elements of their economic sovereignty. Based on lessons extrapolated from the historical analysis, the article concludes with thoughts on what may be required to ensure rapid progress towards real economic integration in Southern Africa. Afrika te verseker. Journal for Juridicial Science Vol.28(3) 2004: 1-

Managing the trade-public health linkage in defence of trade liberalisation and national sovereignty: an appraisal of United States-measures affecting the production and sale of clove cigarettes

Under the legal framework of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), countries have great flexibility to unilaterally adopt environmental regulations that have effect within their territories only. However, the same discretion does not apply to measures that adversely affect imports or exports. An absence of clear guidelines on how to address some of the attendant issues poses challenges to the effectiveness of a trade-environment linkage. Not surprisingly, attempts to link the environment and trade have resulted in a number of jurisprudentially significant cases in which the WTO's Panel and Appellate Body have tried to address critical questions about the Organisation's capacity to address or manage legal or quasi-legal subjects falling outside the scope of its legal framework. In this regard the Panel and Appellate Body reports in the case of United States - Measures Affecting the Production and Sale of Clove Cigarettes (US-Clove Cigarettes) have re-ignited the debate on the Organisation's existential challenge of balancing the rights of the sovereign to freely regulate matters pertaining to health or the environment within its domestic domain with the need to maintain the sanctity of the multilateral trade order. This article demonstrates that in the US-Clove Cigarettes case the WTO Panel and Appellate Body, whilst managing to successfully defend the integrity of WTO Member States' treaty commitments and the overarching importance of trade liberalisation within the organisation's policy foundations even in the context of public health-related regulations, failed to provide any substantive affirmation of the development-related challenges facing developing countries that are part of the WTO family.KEYWORDS: World Trade Organisation; trade - public health linkage; trade liberalisation; trade and environment linkage; national sovereignty and trade regulatio