Bibliographie sélective OHADA

With the developments happening globally that are aimed at curbing base erosion and profit shifting by multinationals, improving the resolution of transfer pricing disputes has been identified as one of the key issues. This thesis investigates the challenges uniquely faced by African countries that militate against the use of the OECD transfer pricing dispute resolution mechanisms. The thesis starts by reflecting on the effect of transfer pricing manipulation by multinational enterprises in Africa in particular. Transfer pricing manipulation is one of the causes of the so-called tax gap, which is, the gap between anticipated and actual revenue collection. The aggression by revenue authorities against transfer pricing manipulation in order to close this gap has triggered a lot of transfer pricing adjustments. These adjustments have resulted in multiple transfer pricing disputes. In the analysis of the adopted OECD dispute resolution mechanisms, the thesis focuses on the effectiveness of the mutual agreement procedure (MAP), the advance pricing arrangement (APA) and the mandatory binding arbitration (MBA). It identifies the problems that result in the failure of or the delay in the resolution of many transfer pricing disputes by analysing the domestic frameworks that exist in four African countries namely: South Africa, Kenya, Uganda and Ghana. The thesis identifies problems such as the absence of a tax treaty network within the African continent, the use of underdeveloped double tax agreements and the lack of commitment from African countries to subscribe to and ratify multilateral conventions. These problems delay or stifle the resolution of tax treaty disputes. They also cause uncertainty for taxpayers and lead to continued tax avoidance by multinational enterprises that essentially avoid paying tax in African countries where the economic activities of these enterprises take place. The thesis also identifies the importance of other OECD supporting tools such as the exchange of tax information in the resolution of transfer pricing disputes. It focuses on tools such as country by country reports, the master file, the local file and simultaneous tax examination as covered by the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. The thesis contributes to the resolution of the identified problems with transfer pricing dispute resolution in Africa by recommending certain improvements that can be effected. These recommendations entail, regarding the MAP, the expansion of tax treaty networks by African countries and the establishment of a Tax Treaty Dispute Resolution Committee by ATAF. Regarding the APA, it is recommended that African countries should sign the multilateral instrument (MLI) and make use of advance tax rulings (ATRs) as alternatives. With respect to the MBA, this thesis recommends that African countries should use optional arbitration by effectively using article 25(4) of the OECD Model tax convention (MTC). It also recommends that African countries must enhance their tax transparency by ratifying multilateral conventions that seek to address international tax co-operation and to improve compliance with transfer pricing documentation requirements in order to make the resolution of transfer pricing disputes more effective.

This study explores the liability associated with the use of autonomous vehicles. With the increase in efforts by automobile industries to manufacture driverless cars, the issue of liability occupies the front seat of the discussion. A major benefit of autonomous and connected vehicles is their potential to ameliorate, if not eradicate, avoidable accidents on roads. Currently, it is estimated that 90% of road accidents are caused by human error. The epoch of driverless vehicles, where the narrative will drastically change, is upon us. This means a shift away from human liability to machine liability, since these technologies have in-built algorithms to ensure autonomous decisions by the vehicle. Product liability becomes crucial in the wake of driverless cars. The gradual and ultimate shift of liability from the traditional human driver to the machine ‘driver’ coupled with the cross-border sale of driverless vehicles provide justification for scholarly attention. Accidents may now be attributed to technological error and not human mistake. Conflict of law issues become central in instances where manufacturers and users live in different parts of the world... <br>LL.M. (International Commercial Law)

This thesis investigates the process of integration in the African Union (AU), and the reasons behind the slow progress of the AU to achieve the goal of deeper economic integration. In the research I explore the role of an AU member state in the process of African integration: Algeria. The research scrutinises the development of Algerian foreign policy towards the AU and highlights any changes in the Algerian FP attitudes and the reasons behind these changes. Similarly, the research unveils the reality of the decision-making process in this country, and the different agents that influence it. To achieve the main goals of the research, different theoretical choices were elaborated. This resulted in researching European integration theories; Neofunctionalism was, then, selected to study the Algerian development in the making of its foreign policy in general and towards the African Union specifically. Some concepts within the Neofunctionalist thinking were used including the principle of the shift of loyalties, the socialisation process, the spillover system, and the role of interest groups in the process of integration. Moreover, the theory of Regionalism was used to examine the process of integration in the AU discovering new reasons that led to the slow development of economic integration in Africa. Consequently, the research highlights the current obstacles and challenges that have hindered the process of economic integration in the AU, including the poverty of most of the AU member states, the limited financial budget of the Union and the instability of the majority of African countries. Furthermore, the research unveiled the lack of political will towards AU economic integration plans. Hence, this contribution extends beyond the traditional models of explanation, and discusses the situation in AU member states (in this case Algeria) and points to other factors as well such as the weakness of the lobbyist activities and business groups in Algeria specifically and Africa more generally. The thesis, then, focusses on Algeria’s supportive and active status in the AU security sector, highlighting how Algeria has been successful in pushing its own security and antiterrorism agenda to the AU level, thereby demonstrating that integration into the AU is possible, if it is backed by influential member states, and wider coalitions can be built to promote integration and cooperation.

The lack of long-term and stable financial support for SMEs is the fundamental reason why enterprises cannot develop for a long time. At present, the situation of financing difficulties for SMEs is becoming more and more serious. Private equity (PE) investment has emerged as an important financing method. Private equity investment, while broadening the financing channels of SME capital markets, brings advanced management experience to enterprises, which helps enterprises to develop rapidly and effectively. According to the statistics of the Zero2IPO Research Center, the active investment institutions in China's equity market have grown from more than 200 in 2000 to more than 14,000 in 2018, with a total asset under management over RMB 9 trillion. Great progress has been realized in the scale and development of the industry. In addition, with the launch of the GEM in 2009, PE investment industry met new opportunities of development and became popular. At present, the development of China's PE investment business is still at an early stage. Neither relevant policies, laws and regulations nor supporting mechanisms are mature enough. Therefore, researches on China's PE investment business needs to be carried out. In this context, more and more scholars are beginning to focus on the field of PE investment. This paper focuses on whether PE investments can fundamentally increase the enterprise value. The basic theory is sorted out to serve as the theoretical basis for this study. Through a systematic analysis, this paper draws out 4paths of PE investment affecting enterprises, which are the influence on technological innovation, corporate governance activities, dividend distribution decision and earnings management, respectively. And through empirical analysis, it finds the empirical basis of the impact of PE investment on enterprise value, and investigates how PE investments affect enterprise value based on the difference in investment characteristics such as investment duration and whether the investment is joint or not. This paper conducts an empirical test by selecting the listed companies of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange GEM in 2015-2018 as sample. The results show that the investment of PE firm will significantly increase the value of the target enterprise. This paper makes a detailed analysis of sample data. The conclusion of the study is that private equity investment will have a significant impact on the value of target enterprises. Private equity investment plays an important role in the modern governance structure of small and medium-sized enterprises in China This paper enriches the existing literature and provides constructive suggestions for the health development of the PE investment market. 中小企业缺乏长期稳定的资金来源是企业无法长久发展的根本性原因，目前 中小企业融资难的形势越来越严峻，私募股权投资作为一种重要的融资手段应运 而生。私募股权投资在拓宽中小企业资本市场融资渠道的同时，给企业带来先进的 管理经验，有助于企业快速并有效的发展。据清科研究中心的统计数据显示，中国 股权市场活跃的投资机构已由 2000 年的 200 多家发展到 2018 年的 1.4 万多家，管 理资本量超过 9 万亿人民币，行业规模和发展实现了质的飞跃。此外，随着 2009 年创业板的推出，私募股权投资行业的发展业迎来了新的希望和契机，私募股权投 资业务开始盛行。目前，我国私募股权投资业务的发展还处于早期阶段，无论是从 政策还是法律法规再到配套机制，都还不够健全。因此，对我国私募股权投资业务 的研究亟需开展，在此背景下，越来越多的学者开始关注私募股权投资这一领域。 本文研究的重点是私募股权投资是否能够根本上提升企业价值。本文首先对 基础理论进行了梳理，以此作为研究的理论依据，而后论述了私募股权投资对被投 资企业价值影响的理论分析，。本文通过系统的理论分析得出了私募股权投资影响 企业的路径，并通过实证分析，得到私募股权投资对企业价值的影响的实证依据， 并且从投资期限和是否联合投资等投资特征的差异性，深入研究私募股权投资对 企业价值的影响方式。本文通过选取深圳证券交易所创业板 2015-2018 年的上市企 业作为样本，进行了实证检验，并得出以下研究结论:私募股权投资的参与会显著 提升目标企业的价值，同时，私募股权投资的期限越长、联合投资机构的数量越多， 目标企业的价值也会越高。 本文基于理论又结合实际，对样本数据进行了分析，研究的结论是私募股权投 资会对被投资企业的价值产生显著影响。私募股权投资对于我国中小企业的现代 化治理结构起到了完善作用。本文的研究结果丰富了现有文献，对私募股权投资市 场健康发展提出了建设性的建议。

My dissertation investigates two streams of managerial accounting literature; specifically, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and executive personality. Paper 1 focuses on whether companies strategically engage in CSR practices to retain employees. Using a difference-in-differences design, I find that an increase in the enforcement of non compete agreements (which enhances a firm’s ability to retain employees) deteriorates CSR performance. Paper 2 extends prior literature and links managerial risk tolerance and firms’ CSR performance. The empirical result of Paper 2 shows that pilot CEOs are less likely to exhibit better CSR performance. Paper 3 examines the spillover effect of managerial risk tolerance along the supply chain. Specifically, I follow Paper 2 to use the pilot status of CEOs to proxy for the customers’ risk tolerance level. Overall, the results support a negative association between customer risk tolerance and supplier investment efficiency, and customer companies ran by pilot CEOs leads to supplier investment inefficiency. Each chapter is designed to be self-contained and provides a more detailed discussion of the research question and contribution.

International commercial arbitration has established itself as the main dispute resolution mechanism for international commercial disputes. This increased visibility has drawn attention to arbitrators’ public role, leading to a well-established general perception that arbitrators are bound to special obligations, such as the duty to be independent and impartial or the obligation to assure that arbitral proceedings are not abused to achieve nefarious goals. Despite this general acknowledgement, little attention has been paid to the mechanisms that ensure that arbitrators adhere to these obligations. In particular, there has been limited analysis of the underlying mechanisms that incentivise the production and enforcement of professional norms in this field. <p></p> This thesis argues that the particulars of the arbitration market largely explains why the evolution of the regulation of international arbitrators has not matched those of other professions. At the same time, it will argue that those same particularities create incentives for several actors, most notably the arbitral community itself, to step in and occupy this regulatory vacuum. In particular, it explores the notion that the market strategies employed by arbitrators, arbitral institutions and other members of the arbitral community have the production of professional norms as a by-product. It further explores how the arbitral market tends to create an environment where compliance with professional norms is rewarded, leading, at the same time, the arbitral community to work as a network that promotes adherence to professional norms through mostly informal sanctions.

The dissertation examines the role the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) can play in facilitating the political and economic convergence of the African Union (AU) member states. The developmental challenges facing Africa in spite of its wealth of human and natural resources is poignant. The genesis of this problem can be traced to the history of colonialism and the wave of independence in the continent in the late 1950s. Arguments have been put forward to suggest that one of the most viable ways of promoting Africa’s development is by developing and promoting intra-continental trade which can be possible through continental integration. The specific areas reviewed are regional stability and how intra-regional trade and investment is used to promote economic convergence. Africa's need for political and economic integration at a continental level is further sustained by the assumption that neocolonialism can be blamed for the weakness of structures in African states. Some scholars agree on the idea that regionalisation is often seen to offer a possibility to respond to the challenges of globalization. This impact nevertheless is dependent on the relation between globalisation and regional sentiment. Regional integration implies a form of interdependence among nation-states. Such interdependence leads to an establishment of regional integration arrangements between sovereign states within a geographical space. These agreements are shaped formally and there is a commitment to work together in order to realise political and socio-economic benefits. This study maintains that in order to achieve effective integration of the continent, Nigeria and South Africa as case studies, as continental giants have a key role to play to this end and as members of ECOWAS and SADC respectively. It is argued here that both the SADC and ECOWAS as sub-continental blocks have made some notable and commendable progress in developing policies for trade liberalization and economic integration, this, however, is not enough as such policies are also pertinent at a continental level. The study found that SADC and ECOWAS as regional blocks can play a role in aiding the continent to achieve a trade liberalization to achieve continental economic development.

Global trade has consistently been on an upward trajectory over the past few decades. In 2001, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that over the course of the previous twenty (20) years world trade had grown at an average rate of six (6) percent per annum, double as fast as world output.1 A substantial component of global trade consists of cross-border transactions. It was projected that between 2010 and 2022, the number of global transactions would double from three (3) to six (6) trillion per year.2 These volumes of global trade naturally entail an enormous number of cross-border commercial contracts, which often result in disputes over defective goods or services, payment or, delays... <br>LL.M. (International Commercial Law)

The issue of portability of social security benefits is a daunting issue facing migrant workers in both Southern Africa and the world in general. In the Southern African Development Community region migration seems to be driven mainly by the need to attain economic freedom. The fact of the matter is that migrant workers from Lesotho and Swaziland who work and have worked in South Africa do play a major role in boosting these countries’ economies. Another issue that cannot be ignored is the fact that circular migration as a phenomenon is unlikely to come to an end any time soon in this part of the world. This means that social security benefits of migrant workers and its portability should be an issue that is dealt with cautiously and speedily, especially in terms of looking at the millions of unclaimed social security benefits reported each year by social security funds and schemes in South Africa. While examining the extent to which selected SADC member states, namely Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa, have undertaken to combat this issue, international and regional instruments that have a bearing on social security rights are analysed and the realisation is that in as much as these do provide for social security rights and portability of benefits thereof, a lack of ratification and implementation play a vital role in achieving efficient portability of these rights. Although South Africa, as the largest migrant-receiving country in the SADC region, does provide for the right to social security in its Constitution, the fragmented nature of its social security framework, together with other factors such lack of information, exploitation by employers, distances travelled to lay claims and a non-existent social security adjudication system means that migrant workers are normally left with lack of redress when their contracts of employment reach an end. On the other hand, Swaziland and Lesotho, as migrant-sending countries, do not even have provisions in their constitutions that specifically deal with the right to social security. This means that citizens who work abroad do not have sufficient social security coverage in either country, as well as in South Africa as a host country. Consequently, multilateral and bilateral agreements on social security are pivotal in addressing this issue of unclaimed social security benefits as they go a long way in making sure that migrant workers are provided with adequate social security protection and coverage as a whole. Migrant sending countries also need to undertake unilateral initiatives to guarantee that their citizens are adequately protected in this specific sphere of social security. Examples are further drawn from the best practices of different regions in the world, namely the Southeast Asian Nations Region, Caribbean Community and Common Market and the Southern Common Market. The above-mentioned regions have established multilateral social security agreements that seek social security protection for migrant workers who play an undeniable role in their economies. Bilateral social security agreements between Zambia and Malawi, together with the one between Sweden and Philippines, are taken into consideration as best practices that Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa may draw examples from when drawing up and concluding their own bilateral social security agreements. The Philippines’ unilateral initiatives are also discussed and hailed as the best practices that migrant-sending countries such as Lesotho and Swaziland may further draw examples from. The Philippines has developed strategies aimed at guaranteeing social protection for its migrant workers abroad and further makes sure that it enters into bilateral agreements with any country that receives services from its citizens. While the need to conclude multilateral and bilateral agreements on social security cannot be denied, there is also a need for migrant-sending countries to come up with unilateral initiatives to lessen the burden on migrant-receiving countries in this social security domain. Sectors such as the mining sector should also have mining-specific agreements that specifically deal with issues related to migrant mine workers. Lack of statistics of migrant workers moving in and out of South Africa has also been labelled as one of the reasons halting access and portability of social security benefits; hence there is a need to develop a data-base aimed at keeping track of all migrant workers, retired and otherwise. Migrant workers who seek redress regarding access of their unclaimed or unpaid social security benefits also have to be provided with comprehensive protection from the courts of law. This therefore means that an adjudication system should be established to deal with social security woes so that those seeking redress have adequate legal support.