The Tribunal of SADC

The Tribunal was established in 1992 as an institution of the treaty establishing the Southern Africa Development Community’s (SADC) and was sworn in November 2005. By Article 4 of that treaty, SADC and its member states are obliged to act in accordance with the principles of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. This is the basis of the SADC Tribunal’s interpretation of its own role. The Tribunal’s seat is Windhoek, Namibia.

It has jurisdiction over disputes between SADC member states and on disputes between legal or natural persons and member states. However, in order for a person to bring a case before the court, all internal legal remedies of the member state concerned have to be exhausted.

Also, a person can bring a case against another person under Community law directly to the Tribunal if the other party so agrees. Persons may sue the Community over the legality, interpretation or application of Community law. A person may also bring a Member State to the Tribunal in connection with Community law or the State’s obligations under such law once national remedies have been exhausted, thus making the Tribunal a final court of appeal for matters relating to Community Law.

Proceedings before the Tribunal shall be instituted by either an application or a special agreement between the parties to the proceedings. Conditions for admissibility are the following:

1. The application shall state:
   (a) the name and address of the applicant
   (b) the name, designation and address of the respondent
   (c) the precise nature of the claim together with a succinct statement of the facts
   (d) the form of relief or order sought by the applicant
2. The application shall state the name and address of the applicant's agent to whom communications on the case, including service of pleadings and other documents should be directed.
3. Any application which does not comply with the requirements of sub-rules 1 and 2 shall render the application inadmissible.
4. The original of the application shall be signed by the agent of the party submitting it.
5. The original of the application accompanied by all annexes referred to therein shall be filed with the Registrar together with five copies for the Tribunal and a copy for every other party to the proceedings. All copies shall be certified by the party filing them.
6. Where the application seeks the annulment of a decision, it shall be accompanied by documentary evidence of the decision for which the annulment is sought.
7. An application made by a legal person shall be accompanied by:
   (a) the instrument regulating the legal person or recent extract from the register of companies, firms or associations or any other proof of its existence in law;
   (b) proof that the authority granted to the applicant's agent has been properly conferred on him or her by someone authorised for the purpose.
8. (a) If an application does not comply with requirements sent out in sub-rules 4 to 7, the Registrar shall prescribe a reasonable period within which the applicant is to comply with them whether by putting the application itself in order or by producing any of the documents.
   (b) If the applicant fails to put the application in order within the time prescribed, the Tribunal shall, after hearing the agents decide whether the non-compliance renders the application formally inadmissible.

The applications must be sent to the following address:

The Tribunal’s first verdict at the end of 2008 was already a landmark case, involving Zimbabwe. The country had enforced a highly controversial land redistribution policy in the early 1990s. In another, still pending, case the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum has taken the Government of Zimbabwe to the SADC tribunal alleging breach of the SADC treaty and its various protocols.