Journal of the African Union Commission on International Law最新文献

{"title":"The use of natural resources to influence state recognition: Africa as a laboratory / L’utilisation des ressources naturelles pour influencer la reconnaissance de l’État : l’Afrique comme laboratoire","authors":"Michael J Strauss","doi":"10.47348/aucil/2021/a3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47348/aucil/2021/a3","url":null,"abstract":"The recognition of states is a critical feature of international law, defining the actors that are subject to it and conferring rights and duties related to their interactions with other states. This recognition is traditionally based on criteria that are deemed essential for a state to exist, even if political factors often play a role. In recent years, it has become apparent that state recognition and de-recognition is sometimes linked to the recognising state’s future access to natural resources found on the territory of the state whose sovereignty is being recognised there. Although this phenomenon is not openly stated, the evidence is circumstantial but abundant, and Africa is at the centre of it. This makes the continent a laboratory for the practice and its consequences, not only for the states involved but also for the broader recognition process. This phenomenon seems to be occurring in two ways. The first way in which this happens is when states use their capacity to produce natural resources that other states need in order to obtain concessions from those states in the form of recognitions of sovereignty over the territory involved. An example is Morocco and its enormous phosphate reserves: various African states that need phosphate for food production have de-recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as an independent state, while recognising Moroccan sovereignty over the same territory – the former Spanish Sahara. The other way in which this happens is illustrated by China’s investments in numerous African countries. The exploitation of natural resources that can be exported to China has been the primary motive for such investments. Some African states that have sought to attract investments have derecognised Taiwan and have recognised China’s sovereignty over the island. This paper describes and assesses the apparent links between African natural resources and the forces that influence state recognition, with a view to identifying the consequences for Africa and for states around the world more generally. La reconnaissance des États est une caractéristique essentielle du droit international ; définir les acteurs qui y sont soumis et leur conférer des droits et obligations liés à leurs interactions avec d’autres États. Cette reconnaissance est traditionnellement basée sur des critères jugés essentiels à l’existence d’un État, même si parfois les facteurs politiques jouent un rôle. Ces dernières années, il est devenu évident que la reconnaissance et le désaveu d’un État sont parfois liés à l’accès futur de l’État reconnu aux ressources naturelles trouvées sur le territoire de l’État dont la souveraineté y est reconnue. Bien que ce phénomène n’est pas clairement/ouvertement déclaré, la preuve est circonstancielle mais abondante, et l’Afrique en est le centre. Cela fait du continent un laboratoire pour la pratique et ses conséquences, non seulement pour les États concernés mais aussi en général pour le processus de reconnaissance.","PeriodicalId":177105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the African Union Commission on International Law","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125066233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Resource curse and impunity gaps: National inadequacies, international responses and regional promises / Malédiction des ressources et impunité: Insuffisances nationales, réponses internationales et promesses régionales","authors":"Ebele Angela Onyeabo","doi":"10.47348/aucil/2021/a8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47348/aucil/2021/a8","url":null,"abstract":"Kleptocracy has been a constant feature in Africa. The fallout of this relentless pursuit for state funds continues to threaten not only the economy, but also the security and stability of the region. Limited domestic judicial accountability for ‘grand corruption’ has exacerbated this problem, rendering both United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) anti-corruption conventions ineffective. As a possible solution, the AU has adopted the Malabo Protocol, which creates a criminal chamber or a Regional Criminal Court (RCC) within the newly formed African Court of Justice and Human Rights (ACJHR), that merges the already existing AU courts. This represents the first supranational institution to tackle ‘grand corruption’ as defined in art 28I of the Protocol. This paper discusses the link between corruption, the ‘resource curse’ and regional security. It evaluates the efficacy of art 28I of the Protocol within the context of other mechanisms developed to address grand corruption globally, like transparency initiatives and the exercise of jurisdictional sovereignty over transnational crimes. The paper comments on the possible relationship between the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the RCC and proposes steps that the RCC could take to overcome anticipated challenges. La kleptocracie est une caractéristique constante en Afrique. Les retombées de cet engouement effréné pour vider les caisses de l’État sont une menace non seulement pour l’économie, mais aussi pour la sécurité et stabilité de la région. La responsabilité judiciaire nationale limitée pour les crimes de « grande corruption » ont exacerbé ce problème rendant de ce fait inefficaces les conventions des Nations unies (NU) et l’Union africaine (UA) contre la corruption. Comme solution, l’UA a adopté le protocole de Malabo qui crée une chambre criminelle ou un Tribunal Criminel Régional (TCR) au sein de la Cour africaine de Justice et des Droits de l’Homme (CAJDH) nouvellement créée, qui fusionne les tribunaux déjà existants de l’UA. Ceci représente la première institution supranationale qui tacle la « grande corruption » telle que définit par l’article 281 du Protocole. Cet article examine le lien entre la corruption, la « malédiction des ressources » et la sécurité régionale. Il évalue l’efficacité de l’article 281 du Protocole vis-à-vis d’autre mécanismes développés pour combattre la corruption à l’échelon mondial tels que les initiatives de transparence et l’exercice de la souveraineté juridictionnelle sur les crimes transnationaux. Cet article commente sur la possibilité d’une relation entre la Cour pénale internationale (CPI) et le TCR et propose des mesures que le TCR pourrait prendre afin de pallier aux problèmes éventuels.","PeriodicalId":177105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the African Union Commission on International Law","volume":"107 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131659984","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The legal frameworks of the Nile Basin: Opportunities and challenges / Cadres juridiques du bassin du Nil : opportunités et obstacles","authors":"Dereje Mekonnen","doi":"10.47348/aucil/2021/a6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47348/aucil/2021/a6","url":null,"abstract":"The use of shared natural resources is a difficult task and the use of trans-boundary freshwater resources poses an even greater challenge, with a higher propensity for conflict. The belated development of international law in the area has contributed considerably to the difficulties. The essence of the international legal regime governing the use of shared water resources is anchored in the twin principles of equitable and reasonable use and no significant harm. Concluding a lasting deal governing the use and protection of shared freshwater resources by taking all relevant factors into account within an inclusive legal and institutional framework is the standard approach. The Nile Basin exhibits peculiar features that make equitable and sustainable use of the water resources a daunting task, depriving the Basin states of the opportunity for cooperative development and shared use. Ensuring the equitable and sustainable use of the Nile waters has been an elusive objective pursued by the riparian countries for over half a century. The existing legal frameworks, especially the colonial and early postcolonial ones, still constitute a formidable challenge to the new cooperative legal framework that began to take shape in the late 1990s, thus keeping the Basin in a legal and hydro-political stasis that has stalled progress and might even undo hard-won achievements. L’utilisation des ressources communes est une tâche difficile et l’utilisation transfrontalière des ressources en eau douce pose encore un plus grand challenge avec une grande propension au conflit. Le développement tardif du droit international dans la région a considérablement contribué aux problèmes. L’essence du régime juridique international régissant l’utilisation commune des ressources en eaux est soutenue par le double principe de l’utilisation équitable et raisonnable et pas de préjudice significatif. L’approche standard est de conclure un accord durable régissant l’utilisation et la protection des ressources communes en eau douce tenant en compte tous les facteurs importants dans un cadre juridique et institutionnel inclusif. Le Bassin du Nil présente des caractéristiques particulières qui rend l’utilisation équitable et raisonnable des ressources en eau une tâche ardue privant ainsi les États du Bassin de la possibilité d’un développement coopératif et d’une utilisation partagée. Assurer l’utilisation équitable et durable des eaux du Nil est un objectif illusoire poursuivi par les pays riverains depuis plus d’un demi-siècle. Les régimes juridiques existants, ceux spécialement coloniaux et post coloniaux, constituent toujours un énorme obstacle pour le nouveau régime juridique coopératif qui a commencé à prendre forme vers la fin des années 1990, maintenant ainsi le Bassin dans une stagnation juridique et hydro-politique qui a freiné les progrès et pourrait même éventuellement défaire les accomplissements durement acquis.","PeriodicalId":177105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the African Union Commission on International Law","volume":"33 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115746462","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Using the public trust doctrine to hold mining transnational corporations in Africa accountable for environmental wrongs / Utiliser la doctrine de la confiance publique pour obtenir la responsabilité des sociétés multinationales minières quant à leurs atteintes sur l’environnement","authors":"Joel Immanuel Matonga","doi":"10.47348/aucil/2021/a5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47348/aucil/2021/a5","url":null,"abstract":"The extractives industry is crucial to Africa’s economy. Mineral resources play an important role in the economic growth of many nations on the continent. The extraction of mineral resources is done by mining companies, most of which are transnational corporations (TNCs). The manner in which these mining TNCs handle waste from the mining process is usually not environmentally friendly, resulting in serious damage to the sustainability of natural resources such as land, water and the ecosystem at large. The states in which these TNCs operate fail to regulate the activities of the TNCs for a number of reasons. Apart from political factors, such reasons include a lack of strong domestic and international laws to address environmental pollution by mining TNCs. The public trust doctrine (PTD) has been celebrated as the ultimate environmental protection tool. Its ability to conform to changing public interests is evidenced by its development. Traditionally, the PTD’s original trustee was the sovereign state. However, this paper will argue that the rise of TNCs – particularly mining TNCs – in Africa has led to the transfer of public roles from the state to the mining TNCs. The conduct of these TNCs has resulted in huge environmental damage on the continent. There is therefore a need for a paradigm shift in environmental law by imposing the PTD on such TNCs. This paper argues that, bearing in mind the fundamental dynamics of the relationship between mining TNCs and the countries in which they operate on the continent, these TNCs have emerged as the dominant governance institutions. The largest of them reaches virtually every country of the world and exceeds most governments in size and power. As a result, the corporate interest rather than the human interest defines the policy agendas of states and international bodies, including the policy agendas and processes of environmental protection. Invariably, TNCs have assumed some of the crucial public roles that were historically the basis for the sovereign state to be the trustee of natural resources. This paper therefore examines the PTD as a legal phenomenon and isolates the concepts that make it an effective legal environmental protection tool on the African continent. It then discusses the characteristics that make the sovereign state an ‘automatic’ trustee of the PTD. The paper then identifies the emerging characteristics of mining TNCs and considers the justifications for advocating the use of the PTD on the international law platform to hold these TNCs accountable for environmental damage on the continent. L’industrie extractive est cruciale pour l’économie de l’Afrique. Les ressources minérales jouent un rôle important pour le développement de beaucoup de pays sur le continent. L’extraction des ressources minérales se fait par des compagnies minières dont la plupart sont des sociétés multinationales (SMs). La manière avec laquelle ces sociétés minières SMs manipulent les résidus miniers n’est très so","PeriodicalId":177105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the African Union Commission on International Law","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131883525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Some current legal questions raised by the management of natural resources in Central Africa (States members and zone ECCAS) / Quelques questions juridiques actuelles soulevées par la gestion des ressources naturelles en Afrique centrale (États membres et espace CEMAC)","authors":"Par James Mouangue Kobila","doi":"10.47348/aucil/2021/a7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47348/aucil/2021/a7","url":null,"abstract":"Based on the case study of ECCAS’s member states, this study raises a series of problems which can be linked to the highly theoretical problematic of the relationship between international investment law and the regional law, two autonomous normative systems which pursue different objectives on the basis of international law standard that binds different parties. This study proposes short, medium and long term legal solutions which can be used by states to restore their sovereignty over their natural resources, in particular by indicating to them how to cancel the excessive tax expenditure granted to investors in establishment conventions and how to overcome stabilisation clauses inserted in these same state’s contracts. These measures are particularly useful in protecting states from possible legal consequences of measures taken in the context of the fight against the pandemic of the new corona virus. Finally, this study contains many proposals relating to the reform of investment law applicable to Africa, such as regionalism which would facilitate the generalisation of the right to regulate in the general interest. À partir du cas des États membres de la CEMAC, cette étude soulève une série de problèmes que l›on peut rattacher à la problématique éminemment théorique des rapports de système entre le Droit international des investissements et le Droit communautaire, deux systèmes normatifs autonomes qui poursuivent des objectifs différents sur le fondement de normes internationales liant des parties distinctes. Elle permet d’offrir aux États des solutions juridiques utilisables à court, à moyen et à long terme pour restaurer leur souveraineté sur leurs ressources naturelles, notamment en leur indiquant comment revenir sur les dépenses fiscales excessives accordées aux investisseurs dans les conventions d’établissement et comment faire échec aux clauses de stabilisation insérées dans ces mêmes Contrats d’État. Ces mesures s’avèrent particulièrement utiles pour protéger les États des éventuelles conséquences juridiques des mesures prises dans le cadre de la lutte contre la pandémie du nouveau Corona virus. Cette étude renferme enfin de nombreuses propositions relatives à la réforme du Droit des investissements applicable en Afrique, parmi lesquelles celle du régionalisme qui faciliterait la généralisation du Droit de règlementer dans l’intérêt général.","PeriodicalId":177105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the African Union Commission on International Law","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122916816","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Report of the 7th forum of the African Union Commission on International Law / Rapport du 7e forum de la Commission de l’Union africaine sur le droit international","authors":"Kathleen Quartey Ayensu","doi":"10.47348/aucil/2021/a10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47348/aucil/2021/a10","url":null,"abstract":"INTRODUCTION The African Union Commission on International Law (the AUCIL) was established as an advisory organ on the basis of Article 5(2) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union. On February 4, 2009 the Executive Council of the Union adopted the operational Statute of the AUCIL. The objectives of the AUCIL, inter alia, are to undertake activities relating to the codification and progressive development of international law on the African continent with special reference to the laws of the Union, including African customary law arising from the practice of Member States (Article 4(4)). Furthermore, the AUCIL shall cooperate and collaborate in the teaching, study and dissemination of International law and African Union law, with universities, institutions and other educational and research bodies, and lawyers’ associations (Article 9). For several years now, the AUCIL has held an annual Forum as a means to fulfill these goals. The AUCIL convened its 7th Forum on 10 and 11 December, 2018, at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The Theme for the Forum was, “MANAGEMENT OF AFRICA’S NATURAL RESOURCES’’. This theme was deliberated on the context of African Union Agenda 2063. Officers for the Seventh Forum were: Chairman of Forum: Hon Judge Ismael Abdi Hersi, Vice-Chairperson of AUCIL Rapporteur General of Forum: Hon Kathleen Quartey Ayensu, AUCIL Commissioner In attendance: Ag Executive Secretary, Dr Guy-Fleury Ntwari, and selected Attorneys from the Office of the Legal Counsel, African Union Commission.","PeriodicalId":177105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the African Union Commission on International Law","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133404991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"International trade law dimensions of natural resources management in Africa / Dimensions du droit commercial international de la gestion des ressources naturelles en Afrique","authors":"Regis Yann Simo","doi":"10.47348/aucil/2021/a9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47348/aucil/2021/a9","url":null,"abstract":"The extraction and processing of raw materials into commodities are not only attractive for their economic value but also for political reasons. This makes natural resources a source of extreme greed. In this context, regions rich in raw materials, such as Africa, become the scene of local and foreign speculation and, instead of contributing to the development of endowed countries, natural resources often become factors of fragility – hence the ‘natural resources curse’ phrase. While countries exercise sovereignty over their resources by virtue of international law, it has also become essential to develop more sustainable activities in order to continue to exploit these resources. Cognisant of these global environmental challenges, a great number of countries in the world are committed to safeguarding the planet, as can be seen from the adoption of the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. At the international level, the multiplicity and complexity of legal norms applicable to the exploitation of natural resources can constitute an obstacle to their application. Indeed, while the scarcity of resources and the surge of environmental problems associated with their exploitation have led to greater reliance on international law because the stakes are global and permeate political boundaries, the corpus of international law rules is sometimes only indirectly relevant to natural resources, since they were not enacted to protect natural resources per se. This is the case of the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which, while not adopted for that purpose, have a bearing on trade in natural resources. While all WTO members are required to open their markets to competition from abroad, WTO-covered agreements give them a certain leeway to regulate this flow in order to pursue societal goals. In other words, under certain circumstances, a WTO member is allowed to justify otherwise WTO-inconsistent measures in the name of legitimate domestic values. This paper focuses on trade rules that control the asymmetrical global distribution and exhaustibility of natural resources, especially export restrictions and their justifications in WTO law. The objective of this paper is to analyse the international and unilateral trade measures addressing non-trade concerns and their relevance for natural resources management in Africa. L’extraction et la transformation des matières premières en produits finis de base sont non seulement attractives pour leur valeur économique mais aussi pour des raison politiques. Ce qui fait des ressources naturelles une source de cupidité extrême. A cet effet, au lieu de contribuer au développement des pays qui y sont dotés, les régions riches en matières premières deviennent le théâtre des spéculations nationales et étrangères au point où les ressources naturelles deviennent des facteurs de déstabilisation d’où l’appellation de « malédiction des ressources naturelles ». Bien que les pays exercent ","PeriodicalId":177105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the African Union Commission on International Law","volume":"4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114335260","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Permanent sovereignty over natural resources and investor-state dispute settlement in Africa / Souveraineté permanente sur les ressources naturelles et accord des différends entre investisseur et État en Afrique","authors":"Kehinde Folake Olaoye","doi":"10.47348/aucil/2021/a2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47348/aucil/2021/a2","url":null,"abstract":"In 1962, newly independent African states voted overwhelming in support of United Nations (UN) General Assembly Resolution 1803 (XVII) on ‘Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources’ (PSNR). This resolution emerged mainly in response to concerns about the protection of foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic development in developing countries. Although substantial legal scholarship has focused on PSNR, few studies have focused on conceptualising PSNR and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in Africa. This paper intends to fill this important research gap, by conceptualising PSNR as a threepronged principle that protects the rights of the state, investors and citizens. This paper examines the evolution of PSNR in the context of investment law in Africa through a textual analysis of treaty language in African investment treaties and as interpreted in natural resource-related investor-state disputes. This paper also examines the significance of Tanzania’s recently enacted Natural Wealth and Resources (Permanent Sovereignty) Act, 2017 (Sovereignty Act). The paper’s textual analysis reveals that unlike what is envisaged under Resolution 1803, dispute settlement clauses in treaties signed by African states do not provide for the exhaustion of local remedies. This paper argues that to attain ‘sustainable sovereignty’ over natural resources, African states must recognise the core of foreign investment protection law: pacta sunt servanda. Although the ‘new generation’ treaties constitute positive steps, to fully attain transformed development through the sustainable use of natural resources (as envisaged in Agenda 2063) treaty reform must be backed by good governance, informed natural resource investment contracts, the rule of law, and intra-regional investment. En 1962, les États africains nouvellement indépendants ont favorablement et massivement voté la Résolution 1803 (XVII) de l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies (ONU), sur la « souveraineté permanente des ressources naturelles » (SPRN). Cette Résolution a été adoptée en réponse aux préoccupations concernant la protection des investissements directs étrangers (IDE) et le développement économique des pays en voie de développement. Bien que le SPRN ait fait l’objet d’importantes études juridiques, peu d’études ont porté sur la conceptualisation des SPRN et les accords sur les différends entre investisseurs et États (ADIE) en Afrique. Cet article vise à combler cet important vide dans la recherche en conceptualisant les SPRN comme un principe à trois volets qui protège les droits de l’État, des investisseurs et des citoyens. Cet article analyse l’évolution des SPRN dans le contexte du droit à l’investissement en Afrique par une analyse textuelle du langage des traités dans les traités d’investissement africains et tel qu’interprété dans les différends entre investisseurs et États en relation avec les ressources naturelles. Cet article examine également l’importance de la récente promulgat","PeriodicalId":177105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the African Union Commission on International Law","volume":"83 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117248528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The dialectic between people and the State regarding free disposal of natural resources on the African continent / La dialectique entre le peuple et l’Etat en matière de libre disposition des ressources naturelles sur le continent africain","authors":"Arnaud Lebreton","doi":"10.47348/aucil/2021/a1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47348/aucil/2021/a1","url":null,"abstract":"La question de la gestion des ressources naturelles sur le continent africain, souvent présenté comme victime d’une « malédiction de l’abondance »1, renvoie irrémédiablement à un principe cardinal du droit international contemporain dont le caractère coutumier a récemment été confirmé par la Cour internationale de justice2. Forgé à partir de 1952 sous l’impulsion de certains États d’Amérique latine et réaffirmé par de nombreuses résolutions des Nations unies, le principe de souveraineté permanente sur les ressources naturelles eut pour effet de mettre en lumière la complexité des relations entre la souveraineté et l’exploitation des ressources du sol et du sous-sol situées sur le territoire de chaque État. Bien qu’il soit devenu courant d’analyser le principe sous un angle strictement historique, lié au processus de récupération des ressources naturelles mené par les États nouvellement indépendants dans le courant des années 1960 et 1970, il ne semble pas avisé de le considérer comme tombé en désuétude. Au contraire, les politiques conduites dernièrement par plusieurs États africains en vue de se « réapproprier »3 leurs ressources naturelles montrent que les États entendent toujours se prévaloir de ce principe par le truchement d’une renégociation des contrats conclus avec des entreprises étrangères ou, a fortiori, en ayant recours à la nationalisation.","PeriodicalId":177105,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the African Union Commission on International Law","volume":"72 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128771810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}