The African Union: Legal and Institutional Framework

An introduction by Abdulqawi A. Yusuf and Fatsah Ouguergouz to the origins, law, and institutions of the African Union. The book examines the evolution, structures, legal standards, and operational activities of this Pan-African organisation, which replaced the Organisation of African Unity ten years earlier. Although the AU came into being in 2001, there has been no comprehensive work addressing the institution, its organs and structures, the scope of its operations, its legal framework, and the normative standards underpinning its objectives and functions. The book fills that void. Conceived as a manual rather than a scholarly treatise, it serves as a basic introduction to the institutional and legal framework of the AU and its affiliated organisations. Abdulqawi A. Yusuf is a Judge at the International Court of Justice and a member of the Institut de Droit International. Fatsah Ouguergouz is a Judge at the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights in Arusha. Both are founding figures of the African Yearbook of International Law.