Advances in Public Law and Policy
Vol. 2 No. 1 (2027): January

The Malabo Protocol and Africa's Regional Corporate Accountability Framework: Legal Prospects and Barriers to Prosecuting Transnational Environmental Crimes

Muhammad Auwal Sule (Centre for Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMICO), Abuja, Nigeria)



Article Info

Publish Date
22 Sep 2026

Abstract

Purpose: This article examines the prospects and legal barriers to using the Malabo Protocol as a regional mechanism for prosecuting corporate transnational environmental crimes in Africa. Research Methodology: The study applies a qualitative doctrinal and documentary research design, examining African Union legal instruments, African human rights jurisprudence, comparative European criminal law developments, and peer reviewed legal scholarship published mainly between 2021 and 2026, analyzed thematically around jurisdiction, corporate attribution, environmental offenses, evidence, cross border cooperation, and remedies. Results: The findings show that Article 46C of the Malabo Protocol represents a significant innovation because it extends criminal jurisdiction to legal persons and permits corporate intention and knowledge to be established through organizational rather than purely individualized proof. However, the Protocol's effectiveness remains constrained by non operational status, limited ratification, the absence of an express ecocide offense, unresolved parent subsidiary attribution questions, and weak cross border investigative cooperation. Conclusions: A functioning regional corporate accountability framework requires ratification, domestic implementation, clearer environmental crime definitions, specialized investigative cooperation, and stronger victim remedy mechanisms operating alongside existing human rights jurisprudence. Limitations: The analysis relies on doctrinal and documentary sources rather than empirical enforcement data. Contributions: The article extends corporate organizational responsibility theory and environmental justice scholarship into an underexamined African regional criminal law context and proposes an integrated operational model connecting national and regional accountability institutions.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

aiplap

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Subject

Description

AiPLAP is a peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to advancing rigorous scholarship at the intersection of public law, governance, and public ...