Bibliographie sélective OHADA

Abstract available in PDF.

There are many employment positions in the labour market that could be filled by the disabled of whom most, given the right environment, could be productive in the workplace. However, there are employers who still labour under the misconception that Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) are unqualified and unproductive although their participation in the workplace could contribute to the national economy, while restoring their dignity and social integration. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) entered into force on 3 May 2008. The CRPD is the first international legally binding treaty aimed specifically at protecting the rights of PWDs. It is expected of ratifying States Parties to either amend their domestic existing laws or to enact new legislation in order to meet their obligations, as set out in the CRPD. In 2008, South Africa ratified the CRPD and the Optional Protocol, thus committing itself to the provisions relating to, inter alia, workplace integration. Article 26 of the Convention mandates States Parties to take effective and appropriate measures to enable PWDs to attain and maintain maximum independence, physical, mental, social and vocational ability, and to ensure their social inclusion. Article 27 stipulates, inter alia, that States Parties shall safeguard and promote the realisation of the right to work, including those who incur a disability during the course of employment. Legislation should make provision for, inter alia the following: • enable PWDs to have effective access to general technical and vocational guidance programmes; • placement services and continued vocational training; • promote employment opportunities and career advancement; • assistance in sourcing, obtaining, maintaining and returning to work; and • reasonable accommodation in the workplace as well as vocational and professional rehabilitation. Although the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993 was amended recently to include rehabilitation, re-integration and return to work (RTW) as part of its objectives, it will be argued that South Africa needs to initiate targeted legislation and policies that make disability management functions mandatory. Employers’ obligations need to be set out clearly in the Act, because, as it stands, the following lacunae exist: • There is no obligation to appoint Case Managers; • Dismissal protection is not provided for; • The regulation of negative incentives to assist with RTW compliance is lacking; and • The roles of different stakeholders in the RTW process require clarification. Without South Africa having an appropriate and detailed RTW framework, ill or injured employees stand the risk of losing their jobs and becoming dependent on family members and/or disability grants. Against this background, a comparative analysis of international and regional law and the RTW practices of two foreign jurisdictions were made. This enabled the author to devise recommendations and identify the roles of the government, employers, employees and Case Managers. The primary objective of this thesis is to determine how and to what extent regional and international standards and RTW programmes in other countries could assist in developing and amending the current legislative and policy framework in South Africa to promote the RTW of disabled employees.

Le cotitulaire est celui qui, au même titre qu’un ou plusieurs autres, est investi du même droit. Cette idée de détention de droit ou de titularité de droit est accentuée par la nature incorporelle ou immatérielle de la “chose’’ création intellectuelle. Juridiquement en effet les choses incorporelles et plus encore la création intellectuelle semblent se réduire à chacun des droits portant sur elles pendant que seul le droit de propriété saisit la totalité de la chose, de la chose corporelle. La nature de droit réel sur une “chose’’ immatérielle, droit non absolu, droit différent de la propriété de droit commun sur cette chose a été révélée et retenue. Lorsqu’on analyse alors la cotitularité du droit de propriété intellectuelle, c’est-à-dire lorsqu’on se situe au niveau du droit, de la relation interne entre un sujet et son objet, que ce sujet ne peut exclure deux ou trois autres, et ce, de façon définitive, le problème n’est pas seulement au niveau de l’exclusivité des parts telle que régie par le régime de l’indivision du Code civil. Il se pose une question d’exercice du même droit entre personnes titulaires de ce droit unique et égal entre eux, question non réglée, voire soigneusement éludée par ce texte. Les cotitulaires du droit de propriété intellectuelle font son acquisition ensemble pour pouvoir en bénéficier, pas pour avoir une part de la création intellectuelle, chose immatérielle. La présente thèse démontre l’inapplicabilité du régime de droit commun de l’indivision aux droits de propriété intellectuelle et montre que le contrat est le seul régime d’exercice du droit de propriété intellectuelle en situation de cotitularité de droit.

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.