The East African Community (EAC) consists of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South-Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. It was directly modelled on the European Union (EU), making an understanding of EU law uniquely relevant for EAC students. Rwanda is an important partner in the larger system of EAC exchanges that the LEAC is aiming to establish. Rwanda is a comparably advanced EAC country with an active academic community at the University of Rwanda in Kigali. The fact that the current president of the East-African Court of Justice was the former dean of the law school, and will return after his term ends, also boosts EAC focus and expertise at this institution. Consequently, the University of Rwanda is amongst the leading regional hotspots for the study and teaching of EAC law.

LEAC is part of the Leiden Law School’s Europa Institute. It aims to advance the study and practice of the East-African Community through its expertise in EU law and comparative regional integration. Over the past six years, LEAC has built up a network of partners in the EAC. This mobility project builds on a successful existing exchange programme supported by a 2018 ICM grant and forms part of a broader EAC exchange programme.

Through this project, LEAC aims to build up a pool of well-trained young East-African professionals that can form an important network for future cooperation and activities. The project also contributes to the Europa Institute’s goal of creating a highly international classroom within its master of European Law programme. In addition, this ICM project contributes to the internationalisation strategy of the partner universities.