Abstract

International commercial law as a body of law that governs international sale transactions has a bright future in the East African Community (EAC) region. As long as international trade is growing so does the relevancy of international commercial law. As a Regional Economic Community, the EAC continues to facilitate trade arrangements between its Partner States to enable them to benefit from greater access to each other’s markets. Regional trade initiatives and economic integration as espoused by the EAC are no doubt integral to international commercial law through their impact on commercial transactions. In particular, the creation of an economic and monetary union is bound to advance international commercial law.This paper posits, therefore, that international commercial law has a favourable future in EAC, and indeed there are many developments that have been embarked on by the EAC to boost its relevancy. As will be illustrated in the paper, key among these developments is the holistic integration approach that has been embraced by the EAC. Commencing with a Customs Union, integration in the EAC has moved to a Common Market, is heading to a Monetary Union, and is ultimately bound to crystallize into a Political Federation. The paper shows that such an ambitious integration process poses both potential opportunities and limitations on the future of international commercial law. The paper highlights what the EAC is doing to harmonise its commercial laws to attain a common investment area and an effective functioning common market. It also explores the implications of this effort on the future of international commercial law and suggests proposals on the way forward.