Regional Implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision
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of Ministers decided to “defer the implementation of Phase 2 awaiting the preparation of competition regulations” (COMESA Secretariat 2005, p. 3). Subsequently, the implementation of liberalized air services within COMESA, as specified in phase II, remained pending for several years. By 2004, only 12 member states had implemented phase I and only Djibouti had opened its airspace to COMESA carriers in line with Legal Notice No. 2 (COMESA Secretariat 2004, p. 22). Indeed, Legal Notice No. 2 did not mention issues of fair competition and the procedure for dealing with disputes resulting from liberalization of international air traffic in the region. In addition to the missing competition regulations, several other elements were subsequently identified that were required to “successfully complete this regional air transport liberalization agenda” (COMESA Secretariat 2003b, p. 7). These elements included the following: • the adoption of a COMESA air transport policy, • the implementation of provisions for air transport competition rules, • the creation of a joint institutional and monitoring mechanism for the liberalization and competition rules, • the drafting of a memorandum for the Court of Justice and Tribunal on the jurisdiction and enforcement of decisions under the competition rules, • the drafting of a standardized mechanism for entry into the market and for enjoying the rights enshrined in Legal Notice No. 2 and in the Yamoussoukro Decision, • the sensitization of airlines and other key stakeholders on the implementation of Legal Notice No. 2 and the Yamoussoukro Decision, • the drafting of a comprehensive regulation on consumer protection in the air transport sector, • the harmonization of the regulatory framework, and • the incorporation of all Council of Ministers’ regulations into individual state’s legal and administrative procedures. The key issue is whether implementation of this agenda for the liberalization of regional air transport can be seen as a condition precedent for the application of liberalization as set out in Legal Notice No. 2. Given that the Yamoussoukro Decision does not deal with detailed competition regulation or the various aforementioned regulations, the application of a liberalized air transport policy may be beneficial in general, or may benefit the air transport sector or industry, but does not need to exist a priori. As outlined in chapter 3, air transport and its liberalization in Africa is still mainly regulated on a bilateral basis between member states of the