2022 marks the 20th anniversary of the inauguration of the African Union (AU) as the continental organization taking over from its predecessor the Organization of African Unity (OAU). This is also the first year of the transition of the AU Commission (AUC) into its new structure under the process for the institutional reform of the AU that has been launched in 2017. During the two decades since its establishment, the AU has evolved not only in its institutional development but also in terms of its working arrangements and decision-making processes and practices. These evolutions and developments are not simply a product of the norms that set the mandate, power and functions of the AU but also importantly the practice of the AU in the implementation of its mandate and the exercise of the powers and functions entrusted to it based on the demands and needs of African states and the continent as a whole.