Bibliographie sélective OHADA

Until recently, doing business in developing countries, and in Sub-Saharan Africa in particular, was associated with high risk. Although each investment decision is associated with some risk, there are always obligations incumbent on host States in that regard. However, when domestic law is too obsolete to match the requirements of an evolving investment and commercial environment which it is supposed to regulate, and when its effects are unpredictable, one of the fundamental conditions for attracting investment goes missing. This eventually underscores the need for a legal reform. The phenomenon of 'globalisation' on the one hand, and the need for (developing) countries to integrate their economies into the global market, on the other hand, considerably accentuated the postulate of development through law.Against this background, some African countries, at the dawn of the 1990s, felt a need to 'modernise' their legal systems for the major part inherited from colonialism. In this vein, they entrusted a supranational organ, the OHADA, to perform that legal reform. This paper is an attempt to test the OHADA against the discourse of law as a development engine. Furthermore, this is an assessment of the extent to which OHADA, as a legal tool, could be useful in serving the purpose of regional integration and economic growth in Africa.

Domestic laws on the African continent have been considered inadequate to attract the investment needed for development and economic growth. A crucial catalyst in attracting investment on the continent is law reform. The formulation of legislation has twofold effects: firstly, it is perceived to mitigate the risks associated with doing business in Africa; secondly, it legally obligates African governments to comply with standards of protection accorded to international investors through the regulation of the business environment. The formulation of legislation is a key determinant of the quality of investment attracted to the continent. This Chapter assesses how the Organization for the Harmonization of African Business Law (OHADA) has contributed to regional integration and economic growth on the continent.