Confl ict Between State Sovereignty and the Right of Intervention Under the Constitutive Act of the African Union

Abstract

The need to redress crimes against humanity and violations of human rights has underpinned the global idea of international intervention in the domestic sphere of a state’s jurisdiction in the last two decades. This article seeks to explore the extent to which the right of intervention against a member state is a breach of the sovereignty of states. We begin by addressing the conceptual idea of state sovereignty; this is followed by an examination of state sovereignty and the idea of non-intervention; after which we proceed to explore the emerging intervention regime in Africa. In conclusion, lack of political will from heads of state is a hindrance in realising the objectives of the Constitutive Act. This is due to the fact that the very leaders who have been involved in abuse of human rights continue to loathe the idea of international intervention in their domestic spheres