Compliance and Rebellion: An Assessment of the EACJ Supranational Authority (2005 – 2018)

The East African Community has changed a lot since it was first incorporated; a lot of learning areas have been translated into the institutions currently put in place to ensure balanced growth and peaceful coexistence of member states. This study looks at the main areas of non compliance with the EAC treaty then proceeds to investigate the reaction of states when the intervention of the court is evoked to elicit compliance then the study finally looks at the authority the court has in the region and whether states support the court or not. To investigate this, the study takes a keen look at the EACJ case files, media reports, journals, periodicals and findings from one on one interview with officials of the court. In the end the study brings out the categories of areas of non compliance, the various ways and instruments states have used to rebel against the court and the court’s reaction in the face of backlash. At the end the study concludes that the EACJ is being used increasingly in the community to promote compliance with the treaty however it is still being influenced a lot by the political events in the community. This influence is felt more in its operations. Though intended to be independent, it is not in the real sense.