Media Iuris
Vol. 9 No. 2 (2026): MEDIA IURIS

Legal Architecture of Digital Trade in East African Community: Emerging Issues and Persistent Challenges

Saiful Abdullah (University Trunojoyo Madura)
Paul Atagamen Aidonojie (Kampala International University, Ugandan)
Muwaffiq Jufri (Universitas Trunojoyo Madura)
Godswill Owoche Antai (Kampala International University)
Collins Ekpenisi (Kampala International University)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Jun 2026

Abstract

Digital technology has, over time, shaped all sectors virtually within the global terrain. One of these sectors that has had its fair share is the economic sector, most especially trading within the global community. Digital economic trade is considered a major driver of regional cooperation and integration in the East African Community (EAC). However, to solidify and address the uniformity of digital trade in EAC, several regional laws have been adopted. Despite these laws, there seem to exist several legal and socio-economic challenges. Hence, it is in view of this that this study seeks to examine the EAC laws on digital trade, prospects and challenges. The study adopts a doctrinal method guided by the PRISMA Guide in obtaining and screening data from primary and secondary research materials. Hence, 8 laws, 8 books, 35 articles, 12 theses/dissertations and 10 reports were relied on, respectively. The data obtained were analyzed through descriptive and analytical methods. The study found that digital trade in EAC provides a lot of potential for ease of trading, and the current EAC laws support a unified digital market. However, the study further identifies that the laws are not comprehensive enough to address current digital technology challenges as they exist in soft law. Also, limited enforcement and unequal digital infrastructure could result in a major barrier. The study concludes that to address these challenges, there is a need for incorporating provisions within the laws that will address the gaps, identify, support and strengthen institutional enforcement capacity and cooperation towards lending support as it concerns digital infrastructure among member states.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

MI

Publisher

Subject

Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice

Description

Media Iuris E-ISSN (2621-5225) is an open-access-peer-reviewed legal journal affiliated with the Faculty of Law of Airlangga University, which was published for the first time in 2018 in the online version. The purpose of this journal is as a forum for legal scholars, lawyers and practitioners to ...