Abstract: | When the President of the Republic of Tanganyika, Julius Kambarage Nyerere, met secretly in Zanzibar with the President of the People's Republic of Zanzibar, Sheikh Abedi Aman Karume, in April 1964, they concluded a treaty of Union which later was ratified by the legislatures of both States. The author first determines the scope and limitations of the treaty of Union, in particular whether it may be deemed a treaty within the international law conception of the term, and then examines what the practice in relation to this treaty has been and whether it envisaged a federal or a unitary constitution of the State. The ambiguity of certain key provisions in the treaty of Union and in the subsequent constitutional provisions giving effect to the treaty has sometimes led to misunderstandings between the two States party to the treaty. The author also notes a number of persistent violations of the treaty of Union which have created both constitutional and practical problems. Ref. |