East African Court of Justice; Arusha, Tanzania; 07 July 2017:

The First Instance Division declined to grant orders sought by one Castro Pius from the United Republic of Tanzania, to stop the Partner States which have not signed the European Partnership Agreement (EPA) not to sign the same and those who have signed it from carrying out any further procedures and processes. The EAC Member States which have not signed include the Republics of Burundi (1st Respondent), South Sudan (4th Respondent) and the United Republic of Tanzania (5th Respondent) and the Republic of Uganda (6th Respondent), those that have signed are the Republics of Kenya (2nd Respondent) and Rwanda (3rd Respondent).

The Court in its Ruling said that the Applicant has failed to establish an irreparable injury that he would suffer that could not be compensated by an award of damages if the injunctive order sought is not granted. This was after he argued in his application, that he allegedly stands to suffer irreparable economic loss and serious violation of his rights under the Treaty, if the Partner States sign the EPA. It was also in the Applicant’s further contention, that the way some Partner States had acted individually in signing the EPA was harmful to the Community and to the East African economy.

In addition the Court when pressed the Applicant to expound on the irreparable economic loss and the violation of rights that he stood to suffer, he was unable to make the link between the impugned signing of the EPA and the alleged irreparable harm that the said signing would cause.

Furthermore, the Court stated that in view of the decision of the 18th Summit of Heads of States held in Dar-es-Salaam on 20th May 2017 stating that the remaining Partner States that had not signed the EPA were not in a position to do so pending clarification of the issues they had identified in the Agreement. That it appears that there is no harm to the Applicant if the injunctive order sought is not granted.

The Court went ahead and said that the Applicant failed to clarify the alleged procedures and processes had to be restrained in regard to Partner States which had already signed the Agreement that is Rwanda and Kenya, Kenya having even ratified it.

The Court also added that as far as the status of the EPA process is concerned, negotiations on the Agreement were concluded in October 2014 and the same was initialled by all EAC Partner States at the time and thereafter, the signing of the EPA was considered by the Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment, which directed the Secretary General of the Community (the 7th respondent) to liaise with the EU in order to organize the signing ceremony of the EPA.

The Court further declined to grant the order sought by the Applicant, directing the Secretary General (7th Respondent) to withdraw forthwith from any negotiations initiated with the EU in view of the 17th Extra-ordinary Summit decision aforesaid until a final decision on the Reference is delivered. The Court said that, the EPA negotiations were concluded in October 2014 and therefore, such an order cannot be granted as the negotiation phase is now closed.

Present in Court to receive the Ruling were the Representatives of the 2nd Respondent (Kenya) represented by Ms. Jenifer Gitiri, Senior State Counsel and Maurice Ogosso, State Counsel, the 5th Respondent (Tanzania) was represented by Ms Aidah Kisumo, Senior State Attorney, the 6th Respondent (Uganda), represented by Elisha Bafirawara and the 7th Respondent Secretary General represented by Stephen Agaba. The representatives of the 1st Respondent (Burundi), the 3rd Respondent (Rwanda), and the 4th Respondent (South Sudan), were not present in Court.

The Ruling of the Court was read by Hon. Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo, of the First Instance Division in open Court.

- ENDS -

For more information, please contact:

Yufnalis Okubo,
Registrar,
East African Court of Justice.
Tel: 255-27-2162149
Email Okubo [at] eachq.org 
Arusha, Tanzania
http://www.eacj.org

About the East African Court of Justice:

The East African Court of Justice (EACJ or ‘the Court’), is one of the organs of the East African Community established under Article 9 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community. Established in November 2001, the Court’s major responsibility is to ensure the adherence to law in the interpretation and application of and compliance with the EAC Treaty.

Arusha is the temporary seat of the Court until the Summit determines its permanent seat. The Court’s sub-registries are located in the respective National Courts in the Partner States.

East African Community Secretariat; Arusha, Tanzania; 06 July 2017:

The 14th Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Transport, Communications and Meteorology (TCM) was held in Mombasa, Kenya from 26th – 30th June 2017 to consider the status of implementation of projects and programmes in the roads, railways, civil aviation and airports, maritime, meteorology and communications sectors.

Also in the agenda was the consideration of preparations for the 4th Retreat of the EAC Heads of State on Infrastructure Development, implementation progress of studies, engineering designs and construction of multinational roads linking Partner States, status of One Stop Border Posts (OSBP), development of standard gauge railway (SGR) and improvement of the projects at the ports of Dar es Salaam, Mombasa and new port of Lamu.

In the civil aviation sector, the meeting considered the progress towards liberalization of air transport within the EAC and approved a framework for seamless upper air traffic control in the Community.

The Sectoral Council directed Partner States to complete the ratification of the EAC Protocol on Cooperation in Meteorology Services and also to migrate from mercury-based weather observation systems, in line with the Minamata Convention. Noting that the delay by Burundi and Tanzania to implement the EAC Roaming Framework was denying East Africans the benefits of affordable communication services.

Addressing the meeting during the official opening of the ministerial session, the Minister of State for Transport, Republic of Uganda and Chairperson of the Sectoral Council on Transport, Communications and Meteorology (TCM) Hon. Aggrey Henry Bagiire, pointed out the critical role that infrastructure plays in the development of Partner States. He recognized various infrastructure development initiatives that are being implemented across the region, including the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) development projects and acknowledged the commitment of Heads of States in infrastructure development.

Hon. Bagiire called for Partner States to put more efforts on among others, harmonization of policies, laws and regulation in supporting the coordination work of the Secretariat to sustain the pace of infrastructure development in the region.

On preparations for the 4th Heads of States Retreat, the Minister requested the Secretariat to promptly and properly involve the Ministers/Cabinet Secretaries.

In attendance were Ministers/Cabinet Secretary; Permanent/Principal Secretaries; and delegates from Partner States, EAC Organs and Institutions, and cooperating organizations.

- ENDS -

For more information, please contact:

Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org

About the East African Community Secretariat:

The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.

 The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001: 2008 Certified