ABSTRACT
Introduction Legal and institutional frameworks form the bedrock of any monetary union and are the fundamental building blocks for the efficient operation of a system of monetary union. The European Monetary Union, for example, was established by the Treaty of the European Union1 which places the responsibility for defining and implementing the monetary policy of the single currency firmly in the hands of the European System of Central Banking.2 The embryonic stage for the creation of a second monetary union of the WAMZ is rooted in Article 54 of the revised Treaty of Economic Community of West African States where it was envisaged that member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) would attain “the status of an economic union within a period of fifteen years”.3 Following the decision of the Authority to fast-track the programme of monetary integration as set out in Chapter 2, the Agreement of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) establishing the second monetary zone of West African states was signed. This chapter will give a brief overview of various legal instruments which encompass the legal framework of the WAMZ and the institutions established by some of these instruments for the operation of the second monetary union.
