THE East African Law Society (EALS) has sued the East African Community (EAC) Council of Ministers for allegedly violating the EAC treaty.
In a statement availed to ‘Daily News’ on Friday, the umbrella association of national law societies in the region said it had already filed a case before the Arusha based East African Court of Justice (EACJ).
According to the EALS, the Council of Ministers, being the main policy organ of the EAC, should and must be at the forefront in upholding the laws of EAC and implement them without exception.
“Our case is that the Council has failed in this aspect,” alleges the regional lawyers’ body in a statement signed by its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Hanningtone Amol.
The EALS alleges that the Council of Ministers, while being the policy organ of EAC, has persistently violated the Treaty and the laws of EAC by holding meetings, passing resolutions and making important decisions without involvement of Attorneys General of the partner states of EAC contrary to the spirit of Article 13.
This has led to delays in realisation of objectives of the Treaty and brought conflicts and confusion in the integration processes, alleges the regional lawyers’ body.
Through reference number 1 of 2020 filed at the EACJ’s first instance division, the EALS accuses the Council of Ministers of conducting meetings without quorum and purporting to make binding resolutions.
It further accuses the Council of Ministers of conducting such meetings for creating an institution of EAC, namely Ad Hoc EAC Service Commission, to undertake the work of human resource and administration at the Secretariat of the EAC without first having the institution properly established by the Heads of State through the Summit.
“Consequently, we are seeking orders that all decisions that the Council of Ministers has made in violation of the Treaty, especially those relating to its 39th meeting held in November last year be nullified.
“The importance of this case is to bring to the attention of the entire citizenry of EAC the importance of respecting laws of the Community in order to realize benefits of regional integration,” reads part of the statement.
The Council of Ministers is established under Articles 9 and 13 of the EAC Treaty as a policy organ and an institution of EAC.
It comprises one minister from each partner state responsible for EAC matters, one other minister as designated by a partner state and the Attorneys General of each partner state.
