Purpose The purpose of this study is to critically examine the move to Africanise international investment law (IIL) aimed at promoting sustainable development on the continent. Design/methodology/approach The study analyses the move by African countries to “Africanise” IIL by incorporating specific and innovative provisions and features in their international investment agreements (IIAs) for the benefit of African economies. This is evidenced by provisions in African regional investment instruments such as the 2007 Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa Investment Agreement and the 2008 Economic Community of West African States Supplementary Act on Investments produced by the different African regional economic communities (RECs), new-generation IIAs such as the 2016 Nigeria-Morocco IIA and the China-Tanzania IIA and the African Union’s Pan-African Investment Code 2016. The common features of these instruments include linking the objective of investment promotion and protection to sustainable development; excluding portfolio investments; including provisions on investor-obligations; and reserving wide scope of regulatory space for host-states, including the ability to take emergency measures without incurring liability to investors. Some of these provisions are rare in IIAs. Findings The study finds that, while the efforts are commendable, there are real challenges. Firstly, there are inconsistencies in the regimes existing on the continent due to differences in the contents of the international investment instruments promulgated by the different RECs, and also differences in the content of IIAs signed by some member-states of the RECs with countries external to the RECs. Secondly, there are governance gaps and a lack of enforcement in practice, which would undermine the effectiveness of the laws being forged. Thirdly, the Africanised IIL alone would not attract investment if other important determinants, such as critical infrastructure, remain lacking. Fourthly, there is under-representation of Africa in the arbitral institutions that develop and enrich the laws, which, if it continues, would undermine the effectiveness of the Africanisation provisions being included in IIAs. Research limitations/implications While the research discusses both law and policy, more is discussed of the law, owing to space limitation. Practical implications It is anticipated that this research will impact the content of the investment protocol under the African continental free trade area and beyond and will prompt review of existing and future IIAs by member states of the various RECs to align them for consistency. It is also hoped that this research will impact the review of various investment instruments of the RECs with the aim of harmonising them. It is further hoped that this research would contribute to addressing the challenges that militate against the achievement of the goals of Africanising ILL for sustainable development. Originality/value The study is original. It has not been published previously and the authors have found no existing publication that addresses the issues covered in this study.

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Is the level of crime in countries explained by ethnic diversity? This study attempts to answer this question by providing empirical evidence that examines the effects of ethnic and linguistic fractionalization on various measures of crime rates, including prosecution and conviction rates. Drawing on data across 78 countries, our study addresses the endogenous nature of the association between ethnic diversity and crime. Our empirical findings show, rather unexpectedly and counterintuitively, that higher levels of ethnic and linguistic diversity tend to aid in the reduction of crime rates and, consequently, lead to lower prosecution and conviction rates. We advance possible reasons for this unexpected result and outline some policy recommendations.

This article observes that expansion of international trade, particularly exports of appropriate goods, by African economies is important to their growth and development. Unfortunately, Africa’s share of world trade has been decreasing rather than increase. The continent is behind other continents in developmental terms, despite its many resource endowments. Governance deficiencies (broadly defined) are a major cause of the inability of African economies to manage their resources for sustained growth and development. The article looks at the particular consequences of governance deficiencies on trade expansion and goes on to suggest that the deployment of ICT can ameliorate those deficiencies. It focuses on the potential positive impact of e-governance in general, and e-customs in particular, on trade expansion. It argues that e-governance, including e-customs, has the potential to enhance the international competitiveness of African economies, increase revenues for government, and increase FDI inflows for production and exportation. It concludes that while e-customs is not a panacea for Africa’s international trade under-performance, it is an important piece of infrastructure that is relatively easier and cheaper to build, but which has a high beneficial impact on trade expansion. It therefore recommends the implementation of efficient e-customs in African economies that do not yet have such systems.

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