The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aspires to establish a unified market across Africa, integrating approximately 1.2 billion people and generating a cumulative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) exceeding US $3.4 trillion. A key challenge in this endeavor is the legal divergence among African nations, particularly the coexistence of monist and dualist legal systems, which affects the domestication and implementation of international treaties.
In dualist jurisdictions, international treaties require domestic legislative enactment before assuming legal force, a process that often results in delays and inconsistencies. Conversely, under the monist doctrine, international agreements acquire immediate domestic applicability, eliminating the need for supplementary legislative procedures. This article critically evaluates the legal, institutional, and procedural challenges associated with a shift towards monism, highlighting the broader implications for regional integration and economic cooperation.
Although empirical research linking monism directly to improved regional integration remains limited, this article argues that monist states may have a comparative advantage in executing international agreements, including trade and investment accords under the AfCFTA. The integration of international law seamlessly into domestic legal orders can facilitate policy coordination, reduce bureaucratic obstacles, and promote efficient legal integration within the AfCFTA framework.
Using doctrinal and comparative constitutional analysis, the article examines treaty reception and judicial practice in Ghana and Nigeria as paradigmatic dualist jurisdictions, and contrasts them with Kenya’s post-2010 constitutional approach, which grants ratified treaties direct domestic effect subject to constitutional limits. The comparison shows how reception design shapes the speed, coherence, and justiciability of AfCFTA commitments, particularly in areas such as customs administration, regulatory cooperation, and dispute settlement-related obligations.
The article contributes a legally grounded account of why post ratification veto points embedded in domestic constitutional systems impede continental harmonization and proposes a reform pathway toward functional monism for integration instruments. The article concludes by proposing key legal and policy reforms necessary for Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria to transition toward a monist framework. These recommendations aim to optimize the implementation of AfCFTA provisions and contribute to the broader objective of deepening economic integration across Africa.