An Original Contribution to the Theory of Private International Law and Cross-Border Commercial Disputes in West Africa

Cross-border commercial disputes involving Nigerian parties and counterparts from ECOWAS member states navigate an underdeveloped private international law framework that creates systemic uncertainty regarding applicable law, jurisdiction, and judgment enforcement, adversely affecting commercial integration in West Africa. This study makes an original contribution to the theory of private international law applicable to cross-border commercial disputes in the West African regional context, developing an original West African Commercial Conflict of Laws Framework (WACCLF) for choice of law, jurisdiction, and judgment recognition. The theoretical framework is developed through three original contributions: a systematic mapping of conflict of laws rules across the 15 ECOWAS member state legal systems using an original comparative methodology; an original theoretical model of the relationship between legal system diversity and West African economic integration measured through cross-border trade and investment data; and a normative framework for a West African Regional Commercial Law Convention modelled on EU private international law instruments adapted for the African context. The WACCLF is developed through archival research, comparative legal analysis, and structured expert consultations with 30 private international law specialists and ECOWAS Secretariat officials. The study constitutes an original scholarly contribution to African private international law theory, identifies the most consequential legal divergences across member states, and proposes a phased West African Private International Law Convention as a priority integration instrument.

Keywords: private international law, cross-border disputes, ECOWAS, conflict of laws, West Africa