Under the Treaty Establishing the Southern African Development Community (the Treaty) one of the institutions of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was the Southern African Development Community Tribunal (the Tribunal). The Tribunal was established as the sole judicial organ of SADC. The Tribunal was established as part of the reorganisation of regional integration efforts within Southern Africa. The global atmosphere prevailing at the time the Tribunal was established, together with the lofty statements in the SADC’s founding instruments, suggest that there was a regional commitment to the ideals of human rights, rule of law and democracy among SADC member States. The Tribunal’s life, however, was short-lived. This paper analyses the prospects and lessons for regional integration within the SADC region from the perspective of the disbanding of the Tribunal and attempts to decipher the implications of the disbanding for regional integration in Southern Africa.

根据建立南部非洲发展共同体的条约（该条约），南部非洲发展共同体（SADC）的机构之一是南部非洲发展共同体法庭（Tribunal）。法庭是南部非洲发展共同体的唯一司法机关。法庭的建立是对南部非洲区域一体化努力进行重组的一部分。全球大气当时的法庭当时的成立，随着崇高的语句一起南部非洲发展共同体的成立文书，建议有一个地方承诺的人权理想，除法律和民主的规则南部非洲发展共同体成员国。然而，法庭的生命是短暂的。本文从解散法庭的角度分析了南部非洲发展共同体区域内区域一体化的前景和教训，并试图解释解散对南部非洲区域一体化的影响。