Bibliographie sélective OHADA

Ticarî işletme, kendisine özgülenen malvarlığı unsurlarının tamamı ile kapsamlı bir organizasyon niteliğini haiz olup, ticarî ve ekonomik bir bütünlük arz etmektedir. Ticarî işletme, ticarî bir amaca özgülenen ve bütünlük arz eden yapısı gereği, tacire ait malvarlığı unsurlarından belki de en değerlisidir. Bu yapısı gereği ticarî işletme, cebri icra hukukunda alacaklıların ilk müracaat edeceği malvarlığı unsurudur. Alacaklıların borçluya ait mal veya hakların paraya çevrilmesi sonucu tatmin edilmesi, cebri icra hukukuna hâkim olan genel bir ilkedir. Ticarî işletmenin cebri icra hukukunda paraya çevrilmesi, kapsamında bulunan mal veya hakların niteliği ve çeşitliliği gözetildiğinde ayrı bir önem taşımaktadır. Ticarî işletmeye özgülenen mal veya hakların ayrı ayrı paraya çevrilmesi, bu mal veya hakların parçalanmasına sebep olacağından, işletme faaliyetinin sona ermesine yol açar. Ticarî işletme faaliyetinin devamlılığının zedelenmesi, alacaklı ve borçlu menfaatlerini doğrudan etkilediği gibi ekonomik, sosyal ve toplumsal bir kısım olumsuz etkileri de beraberinde getirir. Bu nedenle, cebri icra prosedürleri içerisinde ticarî işletme bütünlüğünün bozulmaması büyük önem arz eder. Ticarî işletmenin cebri icra yoluyla bir bütün hâlinde paraya çevrilmesi, işletmeye özgülenen mal veya hakların bütünlüğünün bozulmasının önüne geçerek, faaliyetin devamlılığını sağlayan bir paraya çevirme şekli olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Bunun yanında, ticarî işletmenin bir bütün hâlinde paraya çevrilmesi ile ayrı ayrı paraya çevirmeye nazaran daha yüksek gelir elde edilir. Çalışmamızda, öncelikle, ticarî işletmenin bir bütün hâlinde paraya çevrilmesi açısından karşılaştırmalı hukuk sistemlerinde yer alan bazı düzenlemeler incelenmiştir. Daha sonra, ticarî işletmenin bir bütün hâlinde paraya çevrilmesinin İcra ve İflâs Kanunu'nda yer alan her bir paraya çevirme türü açısından durumu ve ticarî işletmenin bir bütün hâlinde paraya çevrilmesinin yerine getirilme usulü ile paraya çevirmenin etki ve sonuçları ortaya konulmaya çalışılmıştır. A commercial enterprise has the character of a comprehensive organization with all the elements of assets specific to it, and it offers a commercial and economic integrity. A commercial enterprise, due to its structure that is specific to a commercial purpose and offers integrity, is perhaps the most valuable of the elements of the merchant's assets. Due to this structure, a commercial enterprise is the first asset element that creditors will apply for in forced execution law. The satisfaction of creditors as a result of the conversion of the debtor's goods or rights into money is a general principle that dominates the enforcement law. The conversion of a commercial enterprise into money in compulsory enforcement law is of particular importance when the nature and diversity of the goods or rights covered by it are taken into account. The conversion of goods or rights specific to the commercial enterprise into money separately leads to the termination of the business activity, as this will lead to the fragmentation of these goods or rights. Damage to the continuity of commercial business activity directly affects the interests of creditors and debtors, as well as brings with it some negative economic, social and social effects. For this reason, it is of great importance that the integrity of the commercial enterprise is not disrupted within the forced execution procedures. The conversion of a commercial enterprise into money as a whole through forced execution appears as a form of conversion into money that ensures the continuity of activity by preventing the deterioration of the integrity of the goods or rights specific to the enterprise. In addition, a higher income is obtained by converting the commercial enterprise into money as a whole than by converting it into money separately. In our study, first of all, some regulations in comparative legal systems have been examined in terms of the conversion of commercial enterprise into money as a whole. Subsequently, the situation of the conversion of the commercial enterprise into money as a whole in terms of each type of conversion contained in the Execution and Bankruptcy Code, as well as the procedure for performing the conversion of the commercial enterprise into money as a whole, as well as the effects and consequences of the conversion into money have been tried to be revealed.

La constitutionnalisation des ordres juridiques communautaires s’affiche comme une alternative crédible aux conflits des normes inter-systémiques dans l’espace juridique ouest-africain francophone. L’hypothèse a l’avantage de faire intégrer les normes communautaires au bloc de constitutionnalité et, ce faisant, constitue l’opportunité de faire du juge constitutionnel non seulement un garant potentiel de l’application du droit communautaire mais aussi un interlocuteur probable des Cours de justice communautaire. Heureusement, il existe dans le constitutionnalisme d’Afrique de l’Ouest francophone des moyens juridiques de sa concrétisation.

Les contrats miniers et pétroliers sont des contrats spécifiques en raison de leur apport économique. Les litiges relatifs à ces derniers doivent être résolus par des procédés particuliers. Dans le cadre du règlement des litiges miniers et pétroliers, le juge camerounais occupe une place limitée car, dans le principe, il est exclu du processus de résolution. L’arbitre, privilégié et préféré par les parties, intervient principalement pour régler ces différends et le juge camerounais, exceptionnellement. Dans la majorité des pays à l’exception du Cameroun, l’arbitre est l’organe/ principal érigé en juge de droit commun pour solutionner les conflits par accord volontaire des parties aux contrats.

A prescrição e a decadência se voltam à promoção da segurança jurídica. Seu regramento é fruto da concepção liberal e individualista que influenciou as codificações do século XIX e se mantém consagrada no Código Civil vigente. Paralelamente, de sistematização mais recente, decorrente do contexto de massificação das relações sociais e coletivização de direitos, tem-se o processo coletivo, em que o titular do direito e o legitimado a tutela-lo em juízo nem sempre coincidem, tornando a aplicação das regras da prescrição e da decadência problemática. Nesse contexto, a presente tese pretende responder aos seguintes questionamentos: (a) os direitos coletivos estão sujeitos a prescrição e decadência? e (b) em caso positivo, qual é o regramento jurídico aplicável? No primeiro capítulo, traçam-se as premissas necessárias para compreender o regramento da prescrição e da decadência, definindo-se os conceitos de direito subjetivo, ação, pretensão e direito potestativo. Depois, analisa-se o regramento individual da prescrição e da decadência, tratando-se de seu fundamento, do início dos prazos e das causas de impedimento, suspenção e interrupção da sua contagem, da prescrição da execução e da prescrição intercorrente e, enfim das tendências atuais sobre os temas. No segundo capítulo passa-se a tratar do processo coletivo, apresentando-se algumas considerações sobre a sua origem histórica e o direito comparado (class actions); expõe-se igualmente os conceitos de direitos coletivos, com base na categorização disposta no artigo 81, parágrafo único, do Código de Defesa do Consumidor: direitos difusos, coletivos stricto sensu e individuais homogêneos. Analisa-se a sua compatibilidade com o conceito de direito subjetivo, fundamental à configuração da prescrição e da decadência. No terceiro e último capítulo, com base nas premissas teóricas estabelecidas nos dois primeiros, analisa-se se os direitos coletivos em sentido amplo estão sujeitos à prescrição e à decadência, concluindo-se que (a) os difusos não estão sujeitos a qualquer prazo extintivo, por causa da sua incompatibilidade com o regramento da prescrição e da decadência, (b) os coletivos stricto sensu se submetem aos mesmos prazos de prescrição e decadência dos direitos individuais, devendo o início dos prazos, contudo, considerar a ciência do legitimado coletivo, e (c) os individuais homogêneos se submetem integralmente ao regramento da prescrição e decadência desenvolvido para os direitos individuais. Promove-se ainda análise crítica de precedentes do Superior Tribunal de Justiça sobre o tema.

Les différents régimes de propriété intellectuelle des Étatsnations du monde n’offrent pas une protection adéquate aux savoirs traditionnels autochtones. Le régime mondial moderne de propriété intellectuelle n’a été élaboré qu’après la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Aucun État-nation n’a défendu les intérêts de ses peuples autochtones ni ne s’est inquiété du mépris total des savoirs traditionnels et des droits de propriété sur les savoirs autochtones relatifs aux matériaux, aux médicaments, aux plantes ou aux animaux. Bien qu’ils aient été ignorés lors de la mise en place du régime mondial de propriété intellectuelle, les savoirs traditionnels autochtones existent néanmoins. Un bref examen de trois éléments fondamentaux du régime mondial de propriété intellectuelle, à savoir les brevets, les droits d’auteur et les marques déposées, nous permettra de mieux comprendre et définir les fondements des savoirs traditionnels.

European legal protection of consumer autonomy has been significantly changed in the digital environment, where algorithm-driven systems perform everything. This book focuses on protecting consumer autonomy facing the pervasive and global phenomenon of dark patterns: the expression includes various tactics that manipulate consumers by altering online choice architecture to thwart user preferences for objectionable ends. Overloading, skipping, stirring, hindering, and flicking are examples. Moving from the perspective that the sole traditional information approach is ineffective in protecting autonomy, the adopted methodology considers the multiple concerns revolving around the tight combination of transparent information and fair digital architectural design. Consequently, the comparative study of the new suitable regulatory directions arises across different legal fields, including data protection, consumer, and competition law. The relationship between deceptive designs, the nature of human-digital architecture interaction, and the techno-legal paradigms emphasises which future changes in European private law could integrate legal rules into fair designs to protect digital consumer autonomy effectively. Specific importance will be attributed to the functionality of comparative methodology to include non-legal essential insights (e.g. behavioural, informatic elements) into pragmatic and global regulatory paths and models.

Arabuluculuk tarafların tarafsız bir üçüncü bir kişinin yardımı ile ihtilaflarını çözmeye yardımcı olması olarak tanımlanabilir. Türkiye'de özel hukuktan doğan ve tarafların üzerinde serbestçe tasarruf edebilecekleri uyuşmazlıkların arabuluculuk ile çözümüne ilişkin 6325 sayılı Hukuk Uyuşmazlıklarında Arabuluculuk Kanunu'nun 2013 yılında kabulü ile arabuluculuk uygulamasına geçilmiştir. 7036 sayılı İş Mahkemeleri Kanunu ile 2018 yılı itibariyle dava şartı arabuluculuk kavramı Türk hukuk literatürüne girmiştir. 7036 sayılı İş Mahkemeleri Kanunu md.3 uyarınca kanuna, bireysel iş sözleşmesine, toplu iş sözleşmesine dayanan alacak, tazminat veya işe iade talebi ile açılan davalarda arabuluculuğa başvurulması dava şartıdır. İtalya, Almanya ve ABD'nin bazı eyaletlerinde iş hukukunda dava şartı arabuluculuk uygulaması yoktur. İngiltere'de iş mahkemelerine başvurmak için önce ACAS isimli kuruma başvurmak gerekir. ABD 'de ise iş ilişkilerindeki ayrımcılık iddiaları öncelikle EEOC'de görülmektedir. Bireysel İş Hukukunda Arabuluculuk başlıklı doktora tezi çalışmamız dört bölümden oluşmaktadır. Çalışmanın birinci bölümünde alternatif uyuşmazlık çözüm yöntemleri kavramı ve belli başlı alternatif uyuşmazlık yöntemleri irdelenerek incelenmiş, ikinci bölümde arabuluculuk kurumu, amacı, prensipleri, türleri, arabulucunun hak ve yükümlülükleri, arabulucu ve arabuluculuk sözleşmelerinin hukuki mahiyeti ve arabuluculuk etiği gibi konular çalışılmıştır. Mukayeseli İş Hukukunda Arabuluculuk başlıklı üçüncü bölümde, arabuluculuğun anavatanı olan Amerika Birleşik Devletleri, Birleşik Krallık gibi Anglo Sakson sistemindeki devletlerde, İtalya, Almanya, Fransa gibi Roma Cermen sistemindeki devletlerde ve Avrupa Birliği müktesabatında arabuluculuğun nasıl düzenlendiği ve son olarak dördüncü bölüm olan Türk İş Hukukunda Arabuluculuk başlığı altında, dava şartı arabuluculuk kavramına ilişkin konular yargı kararları da işlenerek ayrıntılı olarak irdelenmiştir. Mediation can be defined as helping parties resolve their disputes with the help of a third party. With the adoption of the Law No. 6325 on Mediation in Civil Disputes in 2013, mediation has been implemented regarding the resolution of disputes arising from private law and on which the parties can freely dispose of. As of 2018, with the adoption of the Labor Courts Law numbered 7036 the concept of mediation as a cause of action in employment disputes litigation introduced in our legal literature. Pursuant to Article 3 of Labor Courts Law numbered 7036, lawsuits filed with the demand for receivables, compensation or reemployment based on the law, individual employment contract, collective bargaining agreement are subject to mediation as a cause of action. In Italy and Germany mediation in employment disputes does not exist. In England, in order to apply to the labor courts, firstly it must be applied to ACAS. In the United States of America, for discriminatory allegations in the employment relation firstly EEOC must be addressed. The doctoral thesis titled Mediation in Individual Employment Law consists of four parts. In the first part of the study, the concept of the alternative dispute resolution methods is investigated by examining the main alternative dispute methods, in the second part, the mediation institution, its purpose, principles, types, rights and responsibilities of the mediator, the legal nature of the mediator and mediation agreemets and mediation ethics are studied. In the third part titled Mediation in Comparative Employment Law, the Anglo-Saxon countries such as the United States of America and the United Kingdom, which are the homeland of mediation, in the Roman Germanic system states such as Italy, Germany France and in European Union legal system are explained and lastly under the title of Mediation in Turkish Employment Law, which is the fourth part, the issues related to the concept of mediation as a cause of action are also discussed in detail adding judicial decisions.

International law is a robust system designed to unite world governments in an effort to, inter alia, cease human rights violations and hold those who commit them accountable. As it currently stands, and by its own design, the international human rights legal regime focuses on and applies only to state actors, meaning that violations committed by non-state actors, such as multinational corporations (MNCs), are seemingly conducted with impunity inside this space. Multinational corporations are powerful international players that have undoubtably fostered a significant role in reducing global barriers. By their very nature, they are far more mobile than states, allowing them to evade domestic power and regulatory schemes by detaching from their home state and relocating to a host state with weaker oversight and/or enforcement powers. Simply stated: even though MNCs have better financing, heightened mobility, and a disproportionate amount of influence when compared to world states, they operate with less global accountability. Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a fundamental violation of children’s rights. It consists of sexual abuse by the adult and remuneration in cash or kind to the child or a third person or persons. The child is treated as a sexual object and as a commercial object. Multinational corporations have been implicated in CSEC through acts of omission and commission. And despite the fact that much international law has been drafted to protect children around the world from CSEC—most notably the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols—the numbers of children who have been emotionally and physically harmed by and through MNC conduct has only increased in the past decade. There have been numerous efforts by international organizations to address the challenges when regulating and monitoring human rights violations by MNCs. States, civil society organizations, and the private sector itself have also attempted to address these human rights violations through domestic law, modifying international law principles, and with civil regulation. Obstacles exist in the effectiveness of each of these approaches, leaving children at risk with no single effective strategy to combat and address rights violations by MNCs. The dissertation conducts a review of the current landscape of child law, through the lens of corporate accountability for CSEC. Then, it suggests a new alternative, putting forward an international solution to an international problem.

Le bail à usage professionnel est un contrat nommé de l'Organisation pour l'Harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires (OHADA). Ce contrat est une figure apparentée au bail commercial dont il portait d'ailleurs le nom avant la réforme de 2010. Le bail commercial lui-même s'est historiquement détaché du contrat de louage des choses prévu dans le Code civil de 1804 pour répondre aux exigences des mutations sociales et économiques du premier quart du XXᵉ siècle en Europe. Le bail à usage professionnel se pose donc comme une forme d'arrangement contractuel entre une tradition assumée et une modernité voulue. C'est de cet arrangement qu'a surgi le besoin de s'interroger sur la logique qui le sous-tend pour découvrir s'il existe un objectif poursuivi par le législateur et s'il existe, dans quelle mesure l'ensemble de la règlementation et l'interprétation qu'en fait le juge sont cohérents avec l'objectif visé. Le postulat qui préside à cette étude c'est que les règles de droit ont une raison d'être et une histoire qui obéissent idéalement à la finalité impulsée par ceux qui les appellent à l'existence. Pour les fins d'une telle investigation, l'analyse économique du droit (AED) et le pragmatisme juridique ont permis de dégager un double objectif au bail à usage professionnel. Il correspond à la fois à un ratio legis, c'est-à-dire à la politique juridique du législateur et à un ratio juris, c'est-à-dire à une justice désirable inhérente à l'esprit du contrat. L'étude pose que l'un des objectifs poursuivis par le bail est la protection, non pas tant d'une partie faible ni même d'un fonds de commerce, mais de toute activité économique qu'abrite le local loué. Ce projet permet de rendre compte des règles qui régissent le bail comme des mécanismes de sécurisation de l'espace et du temps de jouissance donnés au locataire. À la lumière de cette finalité, il apparaît que la valorisation économique voulue est restée inachevée avec le traitement partial réservé à l'activité de l'entreprenant. Si le premier objectif du bail consiste en la protection de l'activité économique, le second concerne la protection des acteurs économiques eux-mêmes. Après avoir établi que le bail correspond à ce que la littérature économique appelle actif spécifique, il apparait que la formation et l'exécution de ce contrat constituent une occasion propice aux comportements opportunistes des parties prenantes. La thèse propose une synthèse de la notion d'opportunisme et suggère une lecture de la seconde partie des règles sur le bail comme autant de mécanismes de prévention et de sanctions de comportements opportunistes.

Este artigo objetiva lançar luz sobre a reprodução irrefletida nos clausulados de apólices de seguro de responsabilidade civil de administradores, o chamado seguro D&O, de dispositivo em que se exclui de cobertura atos cometidos pelos segurados com culpa grave. Para tanto, se esmiuça o tratamento da responsabilização civil de administradores e os deveres dos administradores de sociedades anônimas no ordenamento jurídico nacional, dedicando-se especialmente aos deveres de diligência, de lealdade, de evitar conflito de interesses e de informar. Passa-se ao exame do seguro D&O como mecanismo apto à alocação e gerenciamento de parte dos riscos das atividades do administrador e, apenas então, adentrar-se no estudo da culpa grave nos atos de gestão. Após um breve giro histórico sobre a gradação da culpa e a percepção do dolo e da culpa grave no âmbito do Direito Civil e Securitário brasileiros, reflete-se sobre a aplicação do conceito de culpa grave às apólices de seguro D&O.

Les connaissances et les savoir-faire qui ont été produits dans les sociétés traditionnelles sont qualifiés de traditionnels. Ils se divisent en expressions du folklore et savoirs associés aux ressources biologiques. Dans les sociétés développées, ces savoirs sont relégués au domaine public ou patrimoine commun de l’humanité. A contrario, les connaissances et savoir-faire produits dans les sociétés individualistes sont qualifiés de créations nouvelles. Ce sont des productions littéraires, artistiques et industrielles qui ont été individualisées et appropriées par des êtres humains ayant été l’objet de l’individuation qui est un phénomène sociohistorique. Certaines communautés locales contestent la libre exploitation de leurs savoirs traditionnels dont l’exploitation est réglementée par des coutumes. Parallèlement, certains traités ont été adoptés dans l’objectif de protéger ces savoirs en conditionnant leur exploitation au consentement de ces communautés. Ce consentement est difficile à obtenir du fait que la plupart des communautés n’ont pas de représentants légaux au regard du droit positif individualiste. De plus, même s’ils arrivent à conclure des contrats d’exploitation de ces savoirs, ils ne sont pas en mesure d’intenter une action en justice pour obtenir réparation en cas de rupture abusive ou déséquilibre du contrat. La protection des savoirs traditionnels doit être conditionnée à la reconnaissance et au respect des coutumes qui ne sont pas codifiées. L’étranger désirant exploiter ces savoirs doit s’informer grâce à une enquête ethnographique de leurs statuts juridiques coutumiers avant de les exploiter pour éviter de porter atteinte aux droits collectifs de ces communautés.

Le droit d’auteur togolais a aujourd’hui plus de trente ans. C’est une longévité rare dans une matière en permanente évolution. Il importe de s’interroger sur les ressorts essentiels de cette législation qui ne peut plus se permettre de demeurer dans cette léthargie. Un projet de loi sur le droit d’auteur est dans les tiroirs du législateur togolais depuis quelques années. L’article s’interroge sur l’ensemble de l’environnement du droit d’auteur togolais sous le prisme du monde du numérique. Le constat est à la fois évident et amer : le droit d’auteur togolais est suranné dans l’espace comme dans le temps et il est bousculé autant dans sa structure que dans ses finalités. Le législateur est invité à prendre le plus rapidement ses responsabilités pour mettre à jour le droit d’auteur avec son nouvel environnement. Togolese copyright is now over thirty years old. It is a rare longevity in a constantly evolving world. It is important to question the essential springs of this legislation which can no longer afford to remain in this lethargy. A copyright bill has been in the drawers of the Togolese legislator for a few years. The article questions the entire environment of Togolese copyright under the prism of the digital world. This observation is both obvious and bitter: Togolese copyright is outdated in space as well as in time and it is shaken up as much in its structure as in its purposes. The legislator is invited to take its responsibilities as quickly as possible to update copyright with the new digital environment.

Anonim şirketlerde yönetim veya temsil yetkisi kural olarak yönetim kurulu tarafından kullanılmakla birlikte, özellikle halka açık veya büyük ölçekli ortaklıklarda söz konusu yetkilerin tamamının yönetim kurulu tarafından bizzat yerine getirilmesi uygulamada sık rastlanan bir durum değildir. Bu nedenle kanunda, yönetim kuruluna, yönetim veya temsil yetkisinin 6102 sayılı Türk Ticaret Kanunu' nun 367/I ve 370/II hükümlerinde yer alan şartlara uygun olarak, mevcut yönetim kurulu üyelerinden bir veya birkaçına yahut üçüncü kişilere devretmek suretiyle, şirketin yönetim teşkilatını belirleme yetkisi tanınmıştır. Şirket yönetimi konusunda uzmanlaşmış ve yeterli mesleki tecrübeye sahip olan kişilere yetkilerin devredilmesi, bir yandan şirkette profesyonelleşmeyi sağlamakta, diğer yandan kural olarak, devredilen yetkilerle birlikte bu kapsamda ortaya çıkabilecek hukuki sorumluluk da devredilmiş sayılacağından, yönetim kurulu üyelerinin hukuki sorumluluğunu sınırlandırmaktadır. Yönetim veya temsil yetkilerinin geçerli bir şekilde devredilmesi halinde, devredilen yetkilerle ilgili olarak yönetim kurulu üyelerinin hukuki sorumluluğu; murahhasların seçiminde, onlara verilecek talimatlarda ve murahhasların üst gözetiminde göstermeleri gereken makul derecede özen yükümlülüğü ile sınırlı olarak devam eder. Çalışmamızda, geçerli ve geçersiz yetki devri hallerinde, yönetim kurulu üyelerinin hukuki sorumluluğunun ne şekilde ortaya çıkacağı meselesi, mehaz İsviçre hukukundaki görüş ve yargı kararlarına yer verilmek suretiyle, detaylı bir şekilde incelenmiştir. Although the management or representation authority in joint stock companies is used by the board of directors as a rule, it is not common in practice that all of the said authorities are personally exercised by the board of directors, especially in publicly held or large-scale partnerships. For this reason, in the law, the board of directors is authorized to determine the management organization of the company by delegating the management or representation authority to one or more of the existing board members or to third parties in accordance with the provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code numbered 6102, 367/I and 370/II has been recognized. Delegation of powers to people who are specialized in company management and have sufficient professional experience, on the one hand, ensures professionalization in the company, and on the other hand, as a rule, legal responsibility that may arise in this context together with the delegated powers will be deemed to have been transferred, thus limiting the legal liability of the members of the board of directors. In case of a valid transfer of management or representation powers, the legal responsibility of the members of the board of directors regarding the delegated powers; limited to the reasonable care obligation that they must show in the selection of the executive directors, in the instructions to be given to them and under the supervision of the executive directors. In our study, the issue of how the legal responsibility of the members of the board of directors will arise in cases of valid and invalid delegation of authority has been examined in detail by including the opinions and judicial decisions in the Swiss law.

This research study seeks to understand interested parties’ perspectives on Cameroon's existing land tenure systems, the 1974 land law, and ongoing efforts to reform this land law. It identifies both concerns and specific recommendations from these parties on the formulation and implementation of future reforms. In the decades following the achievement of independence from European colonizers, most governments in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have adopted new national land tenure policies to meet their countries’ needs and aspirations. In some parts of SSA, however, this process of land tenure formalization has negatively impacted the land rights of people observing customary land tenure. This has been a result of government interventions such as compulsory land acquisitions, which while technically legal, are ethically questionable. In the face of this challenge, efforts to reform post-colonial land laws have become a matter of urgency. A national land reform process for Cameroon, announced in 2011 has adopted a multistakeholder approach. My study seeks to understand interested parties’ perspectives on Cameroon’s existing land tenure systems, the 1974 land law, and ongoing efforts to reform the land law. This study applied a case study methodological approach and a convergent mixed-method design. Evidence from this study shows that interested parties in Cameroon are in agreement on 1) the reform of the 1974 land law, 2) the recognition of customary land tenure, 3) the continued use of multistakeholder participation in land law reform, and 4) the promulgation of the new land law through mass sensitization and information dissemination.

It is nowadays generally accepted that international commercial arbitration is the most popular method of resolving international disputes between commercial parties. This popularity is the cumulative result of many advantages that international commercial arbitration offers to the parties. It is suggested in the literature that one of these advantages is the freedom of parties and the resulting procedural flexibility. In virtue of this principle, the parties have the opportunity to establish a specific method of adjudication adapted to the nature of their dispute. This opportunity is provided by the fact that the arbitration regulations do not include detailed rules on the collection of evidence, thus leaving the parties and the arbitrators' range of motion. Therefore, we consider that this procedural flexibility has emerged as a possibility obtained at the expense of certainty in international commercial arbitration proceedings. This uncertainty is to such an extent that it also warrants the question as to whether there is an applicable law to take evidence in international commercial arbitration proceedings. Such procedural flexibility afforded to the parties, however, comes at a price of uncertainty with respect to arbitral procedure. International commercial arbitration developed as a reaction to the failings of proceedings in domestic courts, which were subject to detailed rules of evidence. Thus, the consensus in the arbitration community is that party freedom and the procedural flexibility that comes with it are fundamental attributes of arbitration. Although this presumption is theoretically correct; in other words, the parties are indeed able to craft such a procedure that would perfectly fit for adjudication of their disputes, mostly it does not reflect the practical reality. In practice, when parties are negotiating the terms of an agreement to govern their business relationship, they generally tend to avoid discussions as to what will happen if things go wrong. As a matter of fact, according to our practice experiences, when one of the parties' legal counsel tries to address such hypothetical scenarios, the parties generally prefer to suppress such "negative thoughts" and refuse to make in-depth discussions as to how a possible dispute is to be handled. Hereby, this leaves open the question of the procedure to be followed in arbitration proceedings in case of potential disputes. As a result, the provisions on how to resolve disputes that may arise between the parties, in other words, the "dispute resolution" provisions, are left to the very end of the negotiations and passed over in a few sentences. When the relationship between the parties becomes truly strained and a dispute comes to an unavoidable stage, it becomes even less likely that the parties will agree on how to gather evidence on the dispute in question. In a such situation, any suggestions made by one party regarding the procedure for the taking of evidence will be viewed with suspicion by the other party. In an environment of suspicion and animosity, it is often unrealistic to expect productive negotiations to take place on procedural matters. As a result, although the parties have a wide range of motions to make agreements regarding the method of collecting evidence in arbitration proceedings, they are often unable to exercise this authority in practice. As the parties are not exercising their rule-making powers, this important task, which is decisive for the resolution of the dispute, shifts to the arbitrators. Therefore, in our opinion, it would not be a wrong assessment to say that the freedom of the parties has turned into the freedom of the arbitrator in practice. Once appointed, arbitrators have to decide on many issues with respect to the taking of evidence as rules applicable to arbitration are generally silent as to these matters. Although arbitrators have the opportunity to be guided by some non-binding rules, such as the IBA Rules and the Prague Rules, which are considered to be effective and instructive in the arbitration community, they are ultimately left to make their assessments and reach an award based on their judgment. The above-mentioned non-binding rules can undoubtedly assist arbitral tribunals to a certain extent with regard to the taking of evidence. However, it is not possible to say that these rules are enforceable guidelines that can be blindly followed by arbitral tribunals. A closer look at these rules reveals that they leave many issues to the discretion of the arbitral tribunals. Of course, any decision regarding the taking of evidence in international commercial arbitration is already within the discretion of the arbitral tribunals, even in the absence of these rules. Therefore, these provisions, which have been drafted to allow the arbitral tribunals to decide as they see fit, are no more than general guidance on how to exercise their discretion. For these reasons, even if the parties have agreed on the application of these non-binding rules, the fact remains that the collection and evaluation of evidence are still left to the discretion of the arbitral tribunals. This study takes an inductive approach by analyzing the normative and non-binding rules of law applicable to evidence in international commercial arbitration. Firstly, this study examines whether there is a body of rules that can be characterized as the law of evidence in international commercial arbitration. It is determined that there is a law of evidence in international commercial arbitration; however, its content is rather composed of general principles. After determining that these rules have normative value, it is examined how and to what extent these general principles are concretized in terms of the types of evidence used in international commercial arbitration. Although the degree of concretization of these principles varies according to the types of evidence, as a general characteristic, it is determined that arbitral tribunals are left with a very wide discretionary power. It is concluded that arbitral tribunals have a wide latitude of action with respect to the submission of documents, the presentation of witness testimony, the use of expert testimony, the use of discovery and the extent of the res judicata effect of a prior award. Subsequently, the rules on the admissibility and evaluation of evidence are analyzed and it is concluded that the arbitral tribunals have wide discretion in international commercial arbitration, as in other matters relating to evidence and even the discretion regarding the evaluation of evidence is relatively wider. Since it is difficult to review the discretionary power exercised in these matters, it is observed that the arbitral tribunals' decisions on evidentiary issues fall outside the scope of judicial review. This leads to a further blurring of the already grey evidentiary issues in international commercial arbitration proceedings. This is because it is not possible to determine the extent to which the arbitral tribunal has relied on evidence that ostensibly played a role during the proceedings. In the last instance, although the arbitrators' discretionary powers are limited by general principles such as due process and opportunity to be heard, the limits of such discretionary powers are, generally speaking, somewhat blurred as these are general principles. Another issue is that arbitral tribunals are often subject to pressure from the parties when making their decisions on the taking of evidence during the arbitral proceedings. The parties are more interested in being the winner of the concrete proceedings than in the proper conduct of the proceedings in accordance with the law, procedure and rules. In this sense, a party whose request for evidence is likely to be rejected will often argue that the arbitral tribunal's decision violates the principle of a fair trial, even if this is not the case. It is in these circumstances that arbitral tribunals must strike a balance between a fair trial and an efficient trial and make appropriate decisions on evidentiary issues. If arbitral tribunals emphasize procedural efficiency and defer to the parties' presentation of their claims and defences, this may not in itself constitute an obstacle to legally correct decisions. However, this would violate the fundamental procedural safeguards of the participants in the proceedings and may even lead to arbitration proceedings becoming a mechanism for arbitrary and haphazard decision-making. If the opposite approach is taken, in other words, if the priority is to uncover the material truth at all costs and the procedural economy is put on the back burner, this will result in costly and protracted proceedings that will far exceed the limits of reasonableness. Given the limited scope of the guidelines available to arbitrators on the collection and evaluation of evidence, striking this balance is not an easy task. Therefore, it is quite understandable that arbitral tribunals, when deciding on evidentiary issues, may prefer the safer route and give precedence to claims of breach of the principle of a fair trial, even at the expense of the efficiency of the proceedings. Additionally, the confidential nature of the international commercial arbitral proceedings also amplifies the problem. As a result of this principle, the available knowledge as to the practice of arbitration becomes limited to anecdotal stories as to what has happened in certain individual international commercial arbitration proceedings. The arbitrators do not have sufficient opportunity to know about how their colleagues have dealt with certain issues that may have similarities with the issues that they have been trying to solve. In conclusion, in light of the foregoing, since the arbitral tribunals are the rule-makers of arbitration proceedings, the extent to which arbitration proceedings will function correctly and efficiently depends on the experience of the arbitral tribunals and their knowledge of the law, procedure and rules. Basing a correct and efficient arbitration procedure solely on the initiative of experienced arbitrators reduces the 'certainty' of the arbitral procedure. In the face of this situation, it may be tempting to argue that it is inappropriate for arbitrators to have so much freedom and that the rules applicable to arbitral proceedings should be revised to be more detailed. Indeed, there are those who argue that such a change should take place. In the final analysis, a good system should be able to function well regardless of how qualified (or unqualified) its participants are. It is obvious that an argument that sees detailed procedural rules as a remedy for this would contradict the historical development of arbitration and therefore would not be accepted by the international arbitration community. Likewise, from the other side of the coin, it could be argued that detailed procedural rules that are not appropriate to the nature of the individual dispute would prevent qualified and experienced arbitral tribunals from formulating rules that are appropriate to the resolution of the dispute in question, and that the hands of arbitral tribunals may be tied in this way. Although it may be argued that these counter-arguments are equally justified, they do not negate the fact that certainty should be ensured in international commercial arbitration proceedings. Therefore, this suggests that it may be appropriate to resort to alternative methods to ensure certainty. Indeed, it would be a mistake to assume that the only way to achieve certainty is through a detailed set of rules, as we, as legal practitioners in the Continental European legal system, are accustomed to. In the countries subject to the Common Law system, many branches of law do not have such a detailed set of rules and therefore it is not possible to claim that these legal systems lack certainty. Especially in the common law, certainty is provided by case law. If the same logic were to be applied to international commercial arbitration proceedings, it would mean that making information on arbitration proceedings more accessible could help to achieve the goal of certainty. In recent years, there have been some initiatives recognizing the benefits of this approach. While arbitral tribunals are under no obligation to follow the decisions of other arbitral tribunals, having the opportunity to see that there is a consistent pattern of decisions on a particular issue would undoubtedly provide valuable guidance for arbitral tribunals. As the pool of information available to arbitral tribunals and the parties expands, it is obvious that the grey areas regarding evidence in international commercial arbitration will diminish over time. In this way, it will be possible to achieve greater certainty without undermining the fundamental values of the arbitral procedure. Reducing the uncertainty caused by procedural flexibility on procedural certainty in this way will contribute significantly to the development of international commercial arbitration.