Bibliographie sélective OHADA

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.

In this paper we analyse the determinants of disclosure level in the accounting for financial instruments of Portuguese listed companies. Considering the mandatory adoption of International Accounting Standards after 2005, our ultimate objective is to analyse the characteristics of companies that are closest to the disclosure requirements of IAS 32 and IAS 39. We have constructed an index of disclosure comprising 54 items based on IAS 32 and 39 disclosure requirements and computed the index score for each Portuguese listed company based on the analysis of the companies’ annual reports. We tested the relation between the index score and several firm-specific characteristics: size, industry, auditor type, listing status, multinationality degree, relationship shareholders/creditors and importance of shareholders. We conclude that larger companies and companies listed in more than one exchange market show higher levels of disclosure, meaning that they are closer to IAS 32 and 39 requirements. We argue that the agency theory, the signalling theory and the political costs theory do not fully explain Portuguese reality, where there is a large degree of family ownership and bank-oriented financing policies. We therefore advocate that the introducing variables related to specific characteristics of Portuguese companies and managers, in the context of other theoretical frameworks, notably the contingency theory, brings important insights to this type of analysis.

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.

Le principe est admis, aujourd’hui plus que par le passé sans doute, que l’ensemble des biens de la personne garantit l’exécution par elle des obligations dont elle est tenue. Mais le souci de l’humanisation des procédures forcées de recouvrement conduit aussi, légitimement, à écarter de la saisie certains biens du débiteur. Ces règles, combinées à des degrés variables dans les différents systèmes d‘exécution, sont consacrées par les articles 50 alinéa 1 et 51 de l’Acte uniforme OHADA portant organisation des procédures simplifiées de recouvrement et des voies d‘exécution. L’énoncé de ces articles invite à une lecture des législations nationales afin de déterminer, dans le détail, les effets qui doivent ou non être saisis. A la lumière des textes appliqués au Cameroun, lesquels entretiennent de nombreuses similitudes avec ceux en vigueur dans les autres États signataires du Traité de Port-Louis, il apparaît qu’ils ne sont pas en harmonie avec les données socio-économiques en Afrique aujourd’hui.

This article suggests that the trend of accepting the supremacy and direct application of international law represents a rethinking of the relationship between international and national law, and that its full implications are yet to be explored. The Article seeks to build on current writings on the subject by analyzing certain regional arrangements and judicial approaches relevant to, but often ignored in the discussion. It attempts not to situate these arrangements or approaches within or outside of the monist/dualist paradigm, but to assess the practical significance of these arrangements for international law, national law, and their respective subjects.

Estabelecimento individual de responsabilidade limitada

Si le principe de la double qualité est fondateur dans le droit coopératif, il demande à être explicité. L’auteur de cet article s’y emploie en étudiant les coopératives ouvrières de production. La loi de 1978 qui en réglemente le statut est sujette à interprétation, en particulier dans la définition du coopérateur ouvrier. Ce dernier est-il un entrepreneur, un salarié ou bien relève-t-il d’un statut hybride qui reste à inventer ? Le statut du coopérateur ouvrier est étudié au travers des modalités pécuniaires et extra-pécuniaires instituées entre le coopérateur et la coopérative. Entre rémunération classique et participation aux fruits de l’entreprise, les rétributions financières apparaissent directement liées au travail. Le coopérateur participe aux organes de direction en sa qualité d’associé et aux organes de représentation du personnel en sa qualité d’ouvrier; il bénéficie des droits et obligations d’un salarié, mais des spécificités sont inhérentes à la qualité de coopérateur. L’analyse fouillée de la nature juridique du statut de coopérateur ouvrier montre bien toute la complexité de la question, traduite dans le contrat de coopération. While the “dual status” principle is fundamental in cooperative law, it needs to be explained. The author of this article attempts to do this by looking at worker cooperatives. The 1978 law governing cooperatives is subject to interpretation, in particular in the definition of a worker cooperator. Is a worker cooperator an entrepreneur, an employee, or a hybrid status waiting to be invented? The status of the worker cooperator is examined by looking at the financial and non-financial arrangements that exist between the worker and the cooperative. Between the traditional form of remuneration and participation in the enterprise's gains, financial rewards appear directly linked to work. The cooperator participates in management bodies by being a member of the cooperative and in bodies representing the employees by being a worker. The cooperator benefits from the rights and obligations of an employee, but the specificities are inherent to the status of a cooperator. The detailed analysis of the legal nature of the cooperator status clearly shows the whole complexity of the issue, which is reflected in the “cooperation contract.”

Cette étude a pour objectif de démontrer que, loin d’être un troisième degré de juridiction, la Cour commune de justice et d’arbitrage (CCJA) de l’OHADA est une juridiction de cassation singulière qui se transforme, occasionnellement et accessoirement, en juge du fond. La CCJA est juge de cassation car elle est juge du droit et non du fait: cette assertion, qui est totalement vérifiée lorsque la Cour rend un arrêt de rejet, le demeure -mais partiellement-en cas de cassation. La reconnaissance à la CCJA de la qualité de juridiction de cassation tient aussi en ce qu’elle est juge de l’arrêt et non de l’affaire: cette affirmation, qui est également totalement vérifiée en cas de rejet du pourvoi, le demeure -mais partiellement-en cas de cassation. En effet, après la cassation, la CCJA va entreprendre de remplacer la décision annulée par son propre arrêt, ce qui est propre à une juridiction du fond. La manifestation de la transformation réside dès lors dans le remplacement de la décision annulée. En effet, au lieu de renvoyer l’affaire devant un juge du fond pour qu’elle y soit rejugée, la CCJA va lui substituer son propre arrêt.

Cet article retrace deux années de campagne et de mobilisation du mouvement coopératif face à une norme comptable internationale qui représentait une menace pour l’avenir des coopératives. Le projet d’amendement à la norme IAS 32 préconisait que tout instrument financier pouvant faire l’objet d’un remboursement à la demande du porteur soit considéré comme une dette, quelle que soit sa nature juridique. Les parts sociales des coopératives, remboursables sous certaines conditions en vertu du principe de libre adhésion et de retrait, se trouvaient donc concernées : dans les termes de la nouvelle norme, elles ne devaient plus apparaître dans le capital, mais dans les dettes. Les auteurs soulignent les effets pénalisants pour les coopératives, avant de développer l’argumentaire apporté pour faire évoluer le texte. Le processus d’élaboration des normes comptables internationales est complexe, impliquant de multiples instances. L’article éclaire particulièrement le rôle joué par le mouvement coopératif pour améliorer la connaissance de la réalité et de la spécificité coopératives auprès des acteurs concernés par le dossier. This article recounts the cooperative movement's two years of campaigning and mobilization when its future was threatened by an international accounting standard. The proposed amendment to IAS 32 recommended that any financial instrument that could be refunded at the bearer's request be considered as a debt regardless of its legal status. Shares in a cooperative, which can be sold back under certain conditions by virtue of the principle of free admission and demission, were thus affected. According to the new accounting standard, they would no longer appear as part of the cooperative's capital but rather as part of its debts. The authors first show how this penalizes cooperatives and then develop the case that was made for changing the text. The process of drafting international accounting standards is complex and involves many different bodies. The article highlights the role the cooperative movement played in making the actors involved in the process more aware of the reality and specificities of cooperatives as well as the educational value of the campaign.

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

Un article de la revue Revue générale de droit, diffusée par la plateforme Érudit.

L’histoire de la codification en Afrique est indissociable de celle de la colonisation. Celle-ci — du moins politique — a pris fin, il y a une quarantaine d’années, le temps pour les États africains d’adopter leurs propres lois adaptées à leur situation. Sans conteste, le Code civil des Français a influencé et influence encore les droits africains. Devant le dualisme juridique produit par l’importation de ce code, se pose néanmoins la question du choix à opérer soit pour la connaissance effective, l’acceptation et le respect des droits africains, soit pour l’écart criant entre la loi et les pratiques sociales. L’auteur a choisi de scruter la part des droits originellement africains dans les récentes réformes et de vérifier si les Africains y lisent effectivement l’état de leur droit et l’âme de leur société. Sinon, pourquoi et comment y pourvoir ?