The African Centre for Transnational Criminal Justice at the Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape, South Africa, in collaboration with the UNESCO ‘Oliver Tambo’ Chair of Human Rights at the Faculty of Law, University of Fort Hare, South Africa; the Faculty of Law, National University of Lesotho; the Faculty of Law, University of Lay Adventists of Kigali, Rwanda; and the Faculty of Law, King Ceasor University, Uganda, will host a conference on 8–9 May 2025 under the theme "Reflecting on the Current State of Regional Integration in Africa’s Sub-Regions: Comparative Perspectives from the EAC, ECOWAS, and SADC."

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is one of eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs) that have been formally recognised by the African Union (AU) through the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (the Abuja Treaty). The Abuja Treaty was adopted on 3 June 1991, and it became operational on 12 May1994. The Abuja Treaty seeks to spearhead African regional integration, which will culminate in the establishment of the African Economic Community (AEC). It outlines the steps towards this goal, with the RECs being identified as the building blocks for continental integration.

The aim of the conference is to benchmark the SADC regional integration project against those of the East African Community (EAC) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), focusing mainly on the institutional/governance and legal frameworks.

Following the successful holding of three SADC Conferences — the first one on 29 April 2022 at the University of Johannesburg, the second on 12-13 October 2023 at the National University of Lesotho, and the third at the University of Fort Hare on 31 October - 1 November
2024, the SADC Community Law Project is calling for abstracts addressing the following questions, among others:
 

• Are there any major similarities/differences in the institutional and legal frameworks of these three organisations (or between any one of them and SADC)?
• What has informed the differences in the design/evolution of the institutional and legal frameworks of the three organisations?
• Are there any challenges associated with the current institutional and legal frameworks in any of the organisations?
• What lessons can be learnt from any of the three organisations, and what pitfalls should be avoided?

In addition to the above, participants can address any current and topical issues in the areas of governance, peace and security, human rights protection, transitional justice, organised crime, freedom of movement and economic integration issues, among other themes. However, all papers should have a comparative aspect covering SADC, on one hand, and one or both of the other organisations; the EAC and ECOWAS.

The papers will be presented at a hybrid conference to be held at the University of the Western Cape, from 8-9 May 2025.

The abstracts, written in +12 Times New Roman font and not exceeding 300 words, must be submitted to amunyai@uwc.ac.za copied to mphooko@ufh.ac.za and mkhululi.nyathi@wits. ac.za.

The abstracts must indicate the title of the paper, the thematic area covered, the full name(s) and title(s) of the author(s), and their institutional affiliation(s).

Selected papers from the conference will be considered for publication in a special issue of Law, Democracy & Development Journal (LDD), after a double-blind peer review process. The LDD is a reputable, peer review law journal that is accredited by the Department of Higher Education and Training, South Africa.
 

REGISTRATION AND FEES

Registration fees for the conference are R3 000. Participants whose abstracts are accepted for presentation will be provided with banking details and the payment process for colloquium registration. UWC colleagues are exempted from paying the registration fee.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE LAW, DEMOCRACY & DEVELOPMENT LAW JOURNAL:
For more information about the Law Democracy & Development Law Journal please see
https://www.ldd.org.za/
 

Please note the deadlines and other important information below.

Deadline for the submission of abstracts:                      7 March 2025
Decisions on abstracts will be communicated by:         10 March 2025
Deadline for full draft papers:                                           2 June 2025

Article length: an article may not exceed 12 000 words, inclusive of the abstract and footnotes

Date of conference: 8-9 May 2025
Venue: University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa

For general inquiries and logistics, email:
Ms Tracey-Ann Oliphant at admin-actcj@uwc.ac.za copied to Dr Linda Mushoriwa at lmushoriwa@uwc.ac.za and actcjconference@gmail.com

For inquiries regarding the conference and/or abstracts, please email:
Dr Anzanilufuno Munyai at amunyai@uwc.ac.za copied to Dr Linda Mushoriwa at lmushoriwa@uwc.ac.za and actcjconference@gmail.com.


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