ABSTRACT
In Africa, boundary disputes are bound to continue to occur both as a result of colonial heritage of territorial and ethnic confusion but also as a result of sheer vicissitudes of politics and international relations. The legal rules surrounding boundary making, marking, reaffirmation and maintenance must be interrogated and re-interrogated continuously by modern day scholars and practitioners from the developing world. Better attention to language and linguistic rights as well as other sociocultural and religious rights must accompany the making of law with respect to international boundaries. Where international boundaries become disruptive of traditional rights, such as fishing or pasturing grounds, provisions may be made in treaty or by other legal means for their continuance. This would require multidisciplinary approaches and strategic management of dispute resolution. At any rate, it is most important to reimagine the role and effect of contemporary international law in the resolution of African disputes generally.
