Bibliographie sélective OHADA

Le processus de règlement des litiges par la voie de l’arbitrage a nourri des ambitions économiques énormes dans les sphères juridiques où ce mécanisme a été instauré. L’efficacité de ce processus qui signifie entre autre un processus ayant abouti à une application, voire une exécution effective des protagonistes est un gage de la réalisation de ces ambitions. Or, ce processus peut être compromis du fait de l’annulation de la sentence arbitrale par un juge dont l’intervention dans le processus peut soit le renforcer, soit l’annihiler fondamentalement. Cette situation explique dans une large mesure les raisons pour lesquelles la doctrine juridique se place en faveur d’une collaboration solide entre la justice publique et la justice privée de l’arbitrage. Comment cette question de l’annulation de la sentence arbitrale est abordée dans les sphères juridiques du Québec et de l’Ohada? Quels sont les effets juridiques issus de la comparaison de cette situation dans chacune de ces sphères? Telle se présente la substance de cette recherche dont la méthode comparative est alimentée par le paradigme de l’herméneutique juridique et son corollaire le pluralisme juridique. Les résultats issus du dialogue comparatif devraient participer à une amélioration des situations problématiques décelées dans les sphères concernées. The rule process of lawsuits based on arbitration has filled out huge economic ambitions related to judicial spheres where this mechanism has been established. The efficiency of this process, which among others, has led to an application, indeed a real execution of the protagonists, is somewhat a guarantee to the fulfilment of these ambitions. However, this process can be compromised because of the cancellation of the arbitral sentence by a judge whose intervention in the process can either reinforce it or destroy it. This situation mainly explains the reasons why the juridical doctrine is in favour of a solid collaboration. How do the juridical sphere of Quebec and Ohada tackle this issue of the cancellation of the arbitral sentence? What are the juridical effects stemmed from the comparism of this situation in both spheres? The way the substance of this research appears and whose comparative method is fed by the paradigm of the juridical hermeneutics and its juridical pluralism corollary. The results stemmed from the comparative dialog should participate in improving problematic situations detected in the applied spheres.

Litigation in developing countries has many defects which has prompted a need for the development of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Arbitration, being one such substitutive mechanism as a type of private litigation is the most suitable for the same. This paper deals with the need to develop institutional arbitration to co-exist with ad hoc arbitration and scale it down to be available for dispute resolution in developing countries using an illustration of India. Certain recommendations to make institutional arbitration, which is considered to be appropriate for International commercial dispute resolution, suitable for domestic disputes in developing countries have been highlighted.

This article aims to compare the arbitration agreement of the OHADA legal system to that of the People's Republic of China. In the Chinese legal system the parties to a contract are required to have an arbitration agreement written before the occurrence of any incident in the execution of their contract. The parties must specify in advance, in the said agreement, the chosen arbitration institution for potential disputes. In the OHADA legal system, the parties are free to decide before or during execution of the contract of an arbitration agreement. They may also decide whether in case of a dispute, they would want to refer to an institutional arbitration or an ad hoc arbitration. According to the chosen legal system the consequences are different.

L’ordre juridique arbitral existe-t-il ? S’il est perçu par les arbitres, souvent de manière intuitive mais très réelle, c’est qu’il existe. L’ordre juridique arbitral ne doit pas cependant être exclusivement conçu comme une représentation mentale du rôle des arbitres et de la source de leur pouvoir de juger. Il existe en tant que système de droit.

As the world celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the New York Convention in 2008 it became necessary to examine the enforcement regimes for arbitration awards in Sub-Sahara Africa. This article examines the provisions for the recognition and enforcement, and requirements for the setting aside of both domestic and international arbitral awards under the arbitration laws of OHADA member states, Nigeria and Sudan, as representative of the legal regimes in Sub-Sahara African countries. The New York Convention applies to Convention awards in half of the countries of Sub-Sahara Africa. It is therefore relevant to examine the requirements for the enforcement of non-Convention awards in those states that are members of the New York Convention, and also in those states that are not members of the New York Convention. Different arbitration laws and regimes apply in the three representative jurisdictions chosen for this comparative analysis and these are also representative of the legal regimes in those countries with arbitration laws in the region. Though a generally supportive tendency towards the enforcement of arbitral awards can be gleaned from the examination of some arbitration-related judgments, this article again highlights the importance for the remaining countries in the region yet to sign up to and implement the New York Convention to consider adopting it, and for more arbitration hearings to be held within the region.

Issu des actes du deuxième congrès de l'Association des Hautes juridictions de cassation ayant en partage l'usage du Français (AHJUCAF), Monsieur Gaston Kenfack-Douajni expose le bilan des activités de la Cour commune de justice et d'arbitrage de l'Ohada, ainsi que les actions susceptibles de renforcer son efficacité.

La clause de médiation est une stipulation qui a pour objet le règlement amiable des conflits apparaissant au cours de la vie d'un contrat. En ce sens, les parties contractantes s'obligent lors de la survenance d'un différend à mettre en oeuvre préalablement à toute action en justice, un processus de médiation, afin de trouver sous l'égide d'un médiateur une solution amiable. La clause de médiation est une stipulation originale, car elle a un objet duel à la fois contractuel et processuel. Elle comporte en effet un engagement de ne pas agir en justice et une obligation de négocier. Pour permettre une négociation utile, la clause de médiation suspend le droit d'action de chacune des parties. Toute action en justice exercée au mépris de cet engagement entraîne le prononcé d'une fin de non-recevoir ; l'action est dite prématurée. L'obligation de négocier peut se définir comme l'obligation par laquelle les parties s'engagent dans un premier temps à mettre en place le processus de médiation par la désignation d'un médiateur puis à conclure un protocole de mission. Elles devront ensuite s'efforcer de négocier, dans un esprit de bonne foi et de loyauté, une éventuelle solution amiable. Le processus de médiation prendra alors fin soit par la conclusion d'un accord de conciliation, généralement une transaction, soit par le constat d'un échec permettant alors aux parties de retrouver leur liberté d'agir en justice.

L'arbitrage est une institution de nature contractuelle. II est donc de coutume d'aborder les questions de responsabilité liées à cette activité sous l'angle exclusivement contractuel. Néanmoins, l'arbitre remplit une fonction juridictionnelle qui doit être préservée de toute interférence extérieure. De fait, la responsabilité de l'arbitre relève aussi bien du domaine disciplinaire, pénale, contractuel que délictuel. Aussi, l'étude de sa responsabilité doit-elle aborder ces différents aspects, tout en tenant compte de la nécessaire immunité dont doit bénéficier l'arbitre pour accomplir sa mission, sans pour autant jouir d'une totale impunité.

This paper examines the circumstances in which a party to an arbitration agreement may be deemed tohave waived its right to arbitrate a dispute comprehended by the agreement, by involvement in litigation concerning this dispute. The focus is on the law in common law jurisdictions, particularly Australia and theUnited States of America. United Kingdom law will also be briefly surveyed. The paper focuses on the 2006 decision of the Australian Federal Court in Comandate Marine Corp v Pan Australia Shipping Pty Ltd, whichafforded the topic significant treatment. The theoretical bases for sustaining waiver claims are analysed, includingwaiver as a discrete doctrine, abandonment, estoppel, election, repudiation of contract and variation of contract.The policies that underlie and inform the development of principles for testing waiver submissions are noted.

Codes, laws and guidelines governing international commercial arbitration developed by such organizations as the International Court of Arbitration, the International Bar Association and the International Chamber of Commerce have been drafted against the background of Common Law and Civil Law values. In balancing these two great legal traditions, it was assumed that together they represent a composite legal tradition governing international commercial arbitration. The result of that assumption was decades of fine work enshrining international arbitration doctrines, principles, and rules of law and procedures that blend these two important legal traditions. More recent concerns have begun to raise such questions as: How pervasive are the Common and Civil Law traditions? Part I of this article asks: What is a legal tradition and how should it be distinguished from a legal culture in relation to international commercial arbitration? Part II reflects on the influence of legal culture on international commercial arbitration. Parts III, IV and V investigate the Common and Civil legal traditions in relation to national, regional and international commercial arbitration. Part VI evaluates the public traditions that surround international commercial arbitration. Part VII considers whether change in the traditions of international commercial arbitration represent culture change or culture shock. Part VIII emphasizes the value of building an inclusive international arbitration tradition. Part IX suggests ways in which international commercial arbitration can accommodate diffuse and changing local, regional and global influences upon it. Codes, laws and guidelines governing international commercial arbitration developed by such organizations as the International Court of Arbitration (ICA), the International Bar Association (IBA) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) have been drafted against the background of Common Law and Civil Law values. In balancing these two great legal traditions, it was assumed that together they represent a composite legal tradition governing international commercial arbitration. The result of that assumption was decades of fine work enshrining international arbitration doctrines, principles, and rules of law and procedures that blend these two important legal traditions. From the doctrine of freedom of contract to specific rules of evidence and procedures that govern arbitral hearings, the international arbitration community has sought to maintain the respected legal traditions that lawyer-arbitrators and counsel find familiar and comfortable. More recent concerns, partly expressed by William K. Slate II, President of the American Arbitration Association, have begun to raise such questions as: How pervasive are the Common and Civil Law traditions? Are they sufficiently uniform in nature and operation to justify their dominant status in formulating codes, laws and rules governing international commercial arbitration? And has international commercial arbitration become unduly reliant upon both the Common and Civil Law traditions at the expense of other legal traditions that operate against the background of different and changing legal cultures? Part I of this article asks: What is a legal tradition and how should it be distinguished from a legal culture in relation to international commercial arbitration? Part II reflects on the influence of legal culture on international commercial arbitration. Parts III, IV and V investigate the Common and Civil legal traditions in relation to national, regional and international commercial arbitration. Part VI evaluates the public traditions that surround international commercial arbitration. Part VII considers whether change in the traditions of international commercial arbitration represent culture change or culture shock. Part VIII emphasizes the value of building an inclusive international arbitration tradition. Part IX suggests ways in which international commercial arbitration can accommodate diffuse and changing local, regional and global influences upon it.

L’étude des rapports qu’entretiennent l’arbitrage et le procès équitable dans les différents droits des îles de la zone sud-ouest de l’Océan indien prend toute sa dimension dès l’instant où la zone offre un patchwork de systèmes juridiques différents. La question est alors de savoir si dans les droits des îles des Grandes Mascareignes, l’arbitrage revêt le costume juridique français, sachant que le Nouveau Code de Procédure civile (NCPC) édicté en France le 5 décembre 1975 a été, suite à l’accession à l’indépendance de ces différentes pays, transplanté à Madagascar, aux Comores et à Maurice. La logique conduirait à répondre par l’affirmative. Mais la diversité du contexte, constitué soit de transposition du droit français de l’arbitrage, qui intègre le modèle de procès équitable notamment défini par l’article 6 de la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme, soit d’érection d’un droit interne de l’arbitrage composé partiellement de dispositions juridiques françaises, offre des situations inédites. Si à l’instar des grandes tendances, l’étude croisée des dispositions relatives à l’arbitrage et celles du procès équitable dans l’Océan Indien révèle une perméabilisation croissante de ce deux dernières sphères, et de là un risque de processualisation de l’arbitrage, l’institutionnalisation de l’arbitrage permet également aux parties, de trouver des garanties, ce qui est pleinement satisfaisant dans des pays où l’État de droit est défaillant et la justice étatique mise à mal de façon à assurer la sécurisation juridique des investissements et des échanges commerciaux. The study of reports stating that arbitration and fair judgment exist in the different laws of the islands in the south western zone of the Indian Ocean takes on a whole new dimension if the zone provides a patchwork of different legal systems. The question is whether or not arbitration is the same as in the French legal system. One must consider that the New Civil Procedure Code (NCPC) which was decreed in France on 5th December 1975, was transplanted to Madagascar, the Comoros Islands and Mauritius. Logic would thus lead one to believe the affirmative. However the diversity of the context, which is constituted either by transposing French arbitration law that integrates the decreed trial model as defined by article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights, or the erection of internal arbitration law composed partially of French legal dispositions, provides some new situations. If, in accordance with the trends, the cross study of dispositions relative to arbitration and those of the fair trial in the Indian Ocean reveal that these two spheres are growing, and that a result of this there is a risk of procedure arbitration, the institutionalization of arbitration also allows for the concerned parties to find guarantees, which is very satisfying for countries whose state law is weak and where state justice has difficulty in ensuring legal security for investments and commercial exchange.

OHADA (in English, Organization for Harmonization in Africa of Business Laws) is a system of business laws and implementing institutions. Sixteen West African nations adopted this regime in order to increase their attractiveness to foreign investment. Because most of the member states are former French colonies, the OHADA laws are based on the French legal system. Despite certain economists’ recent, well-publicized assertions that any French-based legal system is incompatible with development, other studies challenge those claims and in doing so outline characteristics that a pro-development system of business laws should possess. This Article reviews selected provisions from OHADA’s corporate law and of OHADA’s institutions, revealing that they correspond to those pro-development characteristics. Interviews conducted with legal professionals in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon highlight the local perception that the OHADA regime, while still