The Establishment of the Southern African Development Community Tribunal (SADC Tribunal) is a major event in the history of SADC as an organisation and in the development of SADC law and jurisprudence.

The Tribunal was established in 1992 by Article 9 of the SADC Treaty as one of the institutions of SADC. The Summit of Heads of State or Government which is the Supreme Policy Institution of SADC pursuant to Article 4 (4) of the Protocol on Tribunal appointed the Members of the Tribunal during its Summit of Heads of State or Government held in Gaborone, Botswana on 18th August 2005. The inauguration of the Tribunal and the swearing in of the Members took place on 18th November 2005 in Windhoek, Namibia.

The Registrar of the Tribunal was appointed by the Tribunal pursuant to Article 12 of the Protocol on Tribunal. To ensure the independence of the Tribunal, Article 17 (2) of the SADC Treaty provides that in performance of their duties, the Members of the Tribunal shall be committed to the international character of SADC and shall not seek or receive instructions from any Member State, or from any authority external to SADC.

The Seat of the Tribunal has been designated by the Council to be Windhoek, in the Republic of Namibia.

Article 22 of the Protocol on Tribunal provides that, the working languages of the Tribunal shall be English, Portuguese and French.