Political Science in Tanzania: East Africa Court of Justice

The EACJ is an International Court set out to ensure adherence to the law in interpretation and application of and compliance with the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, herein after referred to as the Treaty. The objectives of the Community as set under Article 5 of the Treaty are to develop policies and programmes aimed at widening and deepening co-operation among the Partner States in political, economic, social and cultural fields, research and technology, defense, security and legal and judicial affairs, for their mutual benefit. All the above objectives are to be implemented in line with the fundamental principles of the Community some of these principles being good governance, peaceful co-existence and dispute settlement, mutual trust and sovereign equality.
It is under the same Treaty that the Court is established with a duty bestowed upon it to uphold the provisions of the Treaty through adjudication of matters brought before it and also give their advisory opinion when requested . Before matters get to the court room, there are procedures followed and it is all these procedures that I sought to learn.
As a student intern of international relations at the Court, my objective was to equip myself with practical skills and integrate them with what I had already learnt and acquire multidimensional knowledge and skills in preparation for my future work life after university. I was looking to gain experience and knowledge in all international and political arenas as well as work ethics.
As in any Court, the EACJ is constituted of a number of employees all doing various duties that make it possible for the Court to run smoothly and properly. This report is therefore an account of my encounter with the various court employees for instance the clerks, the Registrars, the Research officer, other interns, the Secretaries, the Judges to mention but a few, the activities of the court, my contribution to the Court and the lessons I have learnt during my time at the Court. Basically I would say it was a learning experience in more practical terms.
In taking this internship, my intention was to fulfill an obligation required by my department back at the university of aquiring my degree but also as an aspiring political scientist practitioner, I wanted so much to blend in and know what exactly takes place in the real world of practice. Thus, through other departments that work closely with EACJ such as Communication department, Political Federation Unit and International Relations Department at the Secretariat of the EAC have all positively contributed to making my internship a success and provision of a suitable learning environment as an intern. Funding of the EACJ- I think that the EACJ should diversify its sources of income. Solely getting money/being funded by the partner states may compromise the intergrity and independence of the court especially considering the judges are ad-hoc judges. Also still on finances, the running of the court is fully dependent on resources from the partner states which are released quarterly and do not necessarily come on time. This means that the court activities may be paralysed due to such delays. My opinion therefore is that the EACJ create a position of fund solicitor or the court may invest in various business that can support to ensure its independence is protected. On the issue of jurisdiction, I suggest that the organs concerned speed up the process of concluding the protocols to operationalize the extended jurisdiction especially the Human Rights protocol so the EACJ can be fully operational. EALA is the legislative organ of the EAC and yet it has not been accorded its rightful authority and independence. In fact, its mandate has been curtailed and has been stagnated. It is my opinion that the EALA be granted their rightful independence to make laws that are binding on the partner states as that is their rightful job.