Bibliographie sélective OHADA

Regional powers are not always benevolent leaders when it comes to the building of regional institutions. While powerful states – particularly the “new” rising powers – may have a vested interest in regionalism as a means of projecting influence, regional powers may behave as coercive or benevolent leaders, or alternatively display an absence of leadership altogether. The drivers of varying regional power behavior can be attributed to their competing concerns regarding (economic) power, functional efficiency, international legitimacy, and neopatrimonial networks. This paper explores the varying behavior of Nigeria and South Africa in relation to the institutionalization of free trade areas and regional courts within their respective regions. Nigeria has displayed little leadership in ECOWAS trade integration due to domestic opposition; however, a newly-democratic Nigeria’s search for international legitimacy drove the establishment of the ECOWAS Court of Justice. Likewise, South Africa’s search for legitimacy drove its support for the SADC Tribunal, but the competing demands of different audiences led it to abandon this support. South Africa has also displayed leadership in relation to the SADC Free Trade Area; however, its neighbors perceive it as a self-interested, almost coercive actor. The findings suggest that the motivations for regional powers’ behavior vary across time and policy sectors, and that inconsistent behavior is driven by a change in the priority granted to different drivers.

Me posant cette question depuis une cinquantaine d’années, j’ai successivement écarté l’explication d’un simple laisser aller dans la reconduite de l’héritage colonial puis l’hypothèse d’une prétendue supériorité, jamais vérifiée autrement que dogmatiquement, du « droit moderne » sur la « coutume ancestrale ». Plus sérieuse fut l’explication liée à l’économie politique, un héritage marxien, et exigeant que les superstructures politiques et juridiques soient en phase avec l’insertion de l’Afrique dans le marché mondial. Mais, depuis ma participation à l’étude internationale sur les transferts de connaissances juridiques Nord-Sud, à la fin des années 1970, j’ai mis en évidence la place et le rôle de l’idéologie professionnelle des juristes et en particulier de leur philosophie spontanée idéaliste dont je dévoilerai ce qu’il masque à la lumière de mes travaux récents et selon le nouveau paradigme de la juridicité et de son pluralisme « intégral ». This question is focused on my research in the years 1960. After dismissing the continuity of policies such as bureaucratic carelessness of colonial inheritance and the hypothesis of a superiority of modern law facing to ancestral customs, I have debated an another inheritance, the Marxist one, about the link between the generalization of capitalism and legal and political superstructures. But an international project on legal transfers at the end of the 1970s’ revealed the place and role of a professional ideology, of the Lawyers, associated with technical training in law schools and enforcing monologism in the legal discourse. To escape to the effects of this ideology, we have to overhaul the analysis on the basis of the new paradigm of « juridicity » and of a « complete » pluralism.

A partir da pretensão inicial, expressa no título e tema, este trabalho acaba por resultar numa reflexão aturada e solitária (como aliás muitos autores o destacam no caso das suas teses de doutoramento) que ultrapassou o mero âmbito da “apreciação jus-internacional da integração regional africana”, para desembocar num levantamento (pelo menos) de pistas sobre o fenómeno e as concepções do Direito, em geral, e particularmente na interacção historicamente inevitável entre os direitos públicos africano e euro-ocidental. Diferentemente da maioria dos trabalhos académicos sobre a África dita moderna (tanto por africanos como por outras entidades, que não precisam sequer de exibir qualquer tipo de ostensivo eurocentrismo, já minimamente extirpado do mainstream formal hodierno), que partem, geralmente, dos pressupostos teorético-formais euro-ocidentais, transportados, quase sempre de forma acrítica para o Continente, em processos legislativos e noutros aspectos hermenêutico-aplicativos do Direito, nós seguimos uma metodologia que julgamos singular. Singularidade que não reside sequer ou simplesmente na ideia de partirmos de uma pretensa rede de sistemas teorético-formais “genuinamente africanos”, o que, desde logo, conflituaria com a ideia apurada de que essa “África moderna” é uma “invenção” tão recente e prenhe de tensões que mal a deixariam criar tais sistemas com alguma consistência e coerência. Entendemos que a singularidade metodológica deste empreendimento reside, essencialmente, no facto de que tentamos partir da realidade nua e crua da factologia histórica, antropológica e cultural múltipla e diversa dessa África moderna, que resultou da traumática experiência colonial e pós-colonial, sem no entanto deixarmos de relacioná-la com o seu passado mais remoto (perante si e perante o resto da Humanidade). Ora, ao confrontarmos essa pura realidade africana com as metodologias aplicativas do direito moderno (estamos essencialmente no domínio da criação e “efetivização” do direito público, base do nosso objeto de dissertação) de matriz, necessariamente, euro-ocidental, embembido no seu extasiante perfume formal-positivista que lhe vem de Roma, do Renascimento europeu e do Século das Luzes, deparamo-nos com um enorme “buraco negro”, devorador atroz do conteúdo e do sentido desse tipo de direito, no Continente, e desintegrador, ao mesmo tempo, de sistemas tradicionais positivos, no sentido da dignidade e da dignificação humana. Concluímos, pois, que o problema não reside nem na realidade, que é e será sempre inelutável como a força do vento, nem propriamente na formulação da proposição jurídica de cariz euro-ocidental que acompanha essa infiltração, inicialmente exógena, mas que se tornaria ela própria irreversível e integradora necessária da realidade africana hodierna. Propomos, assim, uma nova metodologia de aplicação do direito: olhar para as atitudes dos agentes políticos e de outros aplicadores do Direito, acima das estritas normas jurídicas formais, perante os imperativos ético-morais que a situação do Continente exige. Quanto ao que ao “direito de integração regional e continental” diz respeito, nem sequer é o seu conteúdo e sentido que são absorvidos pelo aludido “buraco negro”, mas antes os das próprias regras adjectivas programadas para a sua criação, autonomizando-o de um direito internacional africano, ele próprio vogando em atribulados mares e agitados ”grandes lagos”. Na África Austral, particularmente na África do Sul, com base na presumível sublimação da filosofia tradicional Ubuntu, tentando sustentar uma convivência na multirracialidade e multiculturalidade, não obstante a pressão a que está sujeita pelo mainstream “afrocentrista”, encontramos o modelo em que tal “buraco negro” é, aparentemente, diminuto, tendo em conta a preservação dos dois pilares (europeu e nativo) em que assenta a sociedade, com reflexos positivos no funcionamento e aplicação do Direito, na base de um casamento, aparentemente ideal, entre a tradição e a modernidade. Enquanto isso, em Angola, estudada como caso médio da África Negra, encontramos o protótipo de uma sociedade em que o “buraco” devorador de conteúdos e sentidos jurídicos é avassalador, como resultado tanto de uma política assimilacionista-integracionista colonial, seguida de outra, a do racionalismo marxista-leninista, que contribuiu para o acanhamento e desvirtuamento da axiologia nativa ou tradicional, completando-se o drama com a diluição dos valores positivos da modernidade ocidental, com as prolongadas guerras civis que determinaram, inicialmente, um êxodo considerável de populações de origem europeia, como suportes deste outro pilar da construção da nação africana moderna, em Angola. De todo o modo, podemos nos aperceber de alguns traços de um direito de integração regional africana, reflectidos e sustentados, ao mesmo tempo, no e pela emergência de uma frágil jurisprudência. Fica a dúvida de se saber se esses diáfanos traços poderão sobreviver à virulência das “próximas chuvas” e preencher-se de vez o vazio lamentado pelos últimos pan-africanistas como Ki-Zerbo e Édem Kodjo

The call for democracy worldwide is based on the assumption that it allows citizens involvement on how they are governed. Being a representative system of government, democracy is projected to make political leadership responsive and responsible to the entire citizenry of the state. Southern Africa region has the most animated economy in sub –Sahara Africa, and democratic ideals appear more firmly established in the region compared to other regions in Africa. This has made the region, among others in the continent, the preferred choice of many migrants from different parts of the world. It is believed that the region has reached its Eldorado. However, a close observation of the politics of that region tends to suggest there has been the institutionalization of democratic rule without commensurate enthronement of responsible and accountable governance. This study systematically examined the political configurations of the region to concretely determine how the practice of liberal democracy in the sub-region has translated to accountable and responsible governance and its overall impact of the living standard of the citizens of the countries of that region. The paper examined accountable governance in the sense that leaders will be able to mange resource of the state for the well being of the populace. The reverse has been the case for the region. Southern Africa needs a developmental and capable state for socio-economic progress and sustainable democracy. This cannot be achieved without responsible political leadership, which would be responsive to the yearnings of the people. The mode of analysis was based on secondary sources and observation method. The paper adopted secondary and observation techniques as the mode of analysis

La sécurité civile des Etats de la Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l’Afrique Centrale, dont la mission première est de protéger les personnes, les biens et l’environnement fait face à la diversité des risques et des crises contemporains. La vulnérabilité et l’insouciance quasi généralisées dans cette partie de l’Afrique, aggravées par des contraintes chroniques dues à la pauvreté et la faiblesse des cadres institutionnels les exposent aux conséquences meurtrières et désastreuses des catastrophes.La situation est préoccupante ; mais la matière peine à rentrer dans les priorités des politiques publiques, tant en interne dans le cadre de chaque Etat de la C.E.M.A.C, que sur le plan sous régional.Les actions initiées çà et là au plan institutionnel, juridique et humain demeurent timides. Une des raisons majeures est que la sécurité civile dans cette partie du continent est relativement jeune et partagée entre une multitude d’acteurs confrontés en permanence aux événements dramatiques et à la complexité des crises.Elle a, plus que d’autres disciplines, besoin d’être précisée et consolidée. La question majeure qui structure le travail entrepris est par conséquent celle de savoir comment faire face aux situations complexes, éviter et prévenir les crises dans un environnement où les vulnérabilités sont décuplées par la pauvreté ? Autrement dit, que faire en cas de catastrophe dans un contexte où la capacité d’anticiper et de gérer les risques est particulièrement limitée ?A partir de la démarche juridique, mais aussi interdisciplinaire, l’on a montré la limite du modèle classique sur lequel repose principalement les systèmes de sécurité civile des Etats de la C.E.M.A.C, au détriment d’autres modèles pertinents de gestion crises (prise en compte des vulnérabilités et de la résilience) qui n’apparaissent dans le droit de la sécurité civile de ces Etats que sous forme de linéament.La réalité est claire et brutale : les risques et les catastrophes sont omniprésents en zone C.E.M.A.C, telle une ombre projetée sur le présent et le futur. Ce catastrophisme étale l’absence de développement de a sous-région et la faible diffusion des technologies et des savoirs. Face à cette situation inédite, outre la prévention des risques, l’on a préconisé de briser les sentiments d’impuissance, d’apprendre à affronter la catastrophe, à cesser de l’imaginer dans un futur improbable ; mais à la penser au présent, à expérimenter les capacités de résister et de résilience. Il devient dès lors essentiel de renouveler l’organisation générale de la sécurité civile des Etats de la C.E.M.A.C. A cet égard, l’émergence et /ou le renforcement d’un modèle communautaire de protection des personnes consoliderait le dispositif sous régional de sécurité civile. La recherche d’une gouvernance éclairée et participative peuvent aussi être des vecteurs minimaux, mais puissants de relance d’une garantie de la sécurité humaine et des droits fondamentaux.

Pour faire face au phénomène de la mondialisation du marché international des affaires et des défis qu’il met en jeu, le développement économique semble s’orienter de plus en plus vers une approche régionale afin de mieux défendre les intérêts nationaux pourtant souvent contradictoires. En effet, la mondialisation de l’économie exige la mondialisation du droit., l’un des exemples le plus illustratif, nous viens de l’Afrique, qui a privilégié l’intégration régionale par le droit des affaires, à travers la création de l’Organisation de l’OHADA qui devait permettre à une partie de l’Afrique de mieux s’intégrer à l’économie mondiale, de faciliter les échanges entre les Etats parties, d’attirer les investisseurs étrangers, et de mettre fin à l’insécurité juridique. Selon les initiateurs du traité OHADA, l’intégration économique qui est une condition sine qua non du développement de la région, ne peut réussir, qu’à travers la mise en place d’une harmonisation du droit des affaires. Le fonctionnement de L’OHADA s’appuie sur un certain nombre d’organes et sur l’élaboration de plusieurs Actes Uniformes touchant au domaine du Droit des Affaires constituant ainsi le droit dérivé. Néanmoins face à un environnement économique et juridique en constante évolution, l’OHADA était dans l’obligation de mener des réformes d’ordre institutionnel et normatif.

Les courants de la mondialisation des marchés, marqués par la libre circulation des capitaux et le phénomène du libre-échange ont favorisé la mise en œuvre de politiques communautaires de relance économique et d’attractivité des territoires. C’est dans cette lancée que des regroupements géographiques à visée économique comme la Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l’Afrique Centrale (CEMAC) sont apparus. Six pays de l’Afrique Centrale dont le Cameroun, le Congo, le Gabon, la Guinée Equatoriale, la République Centrafricaine et le Tchad en sont membres et font l’objet de notre analyse sur l’attractivité économique de l’investissement Direct étranger (IDE) dans cette sous-région. L’IDE est devenu un acteur incontournable du processus de développement, et la zone CEMAC une destination privilégiée pour les investisseurs. Il apparait néanmoins une ambiguïté dans les rapports entre le flux d’IDE, la croissance économique et le développement des pays membres de la CEMAC : le taux sans cesse croissant des flux d’IDE entrants dans la sous-région, n’est malheureusement pas toujours synonyme de croissance économique. Pour comprendre ce paradoxe, l’on procède à une analyse des instruments encadrement de l’IDE dans la sous-région CEMAC. Il en ressort que, pour un rendement optimal de ces dispositifs et la garantie d’une croissance économique à long terme dans ces États, il est nécessaire d’associer les politiques actuelles d’attractivité économique des IDE, à une diversification des domaines économiques exploitables , mais aussi adapter les standards internationaux aux spécificités socioculturelles mais aussi économiques de la sous-région CEMAC.

I) L’indifférence du statut de la puissance publique dans l’applicabilité du droit communautaire A) La prépondérance du critère matériel d’application du droit communautaire 1) Le critère de commercialité dans la législation OHADA 2) L’entreprise dans la législation UEMOA B) Le maintien exceptionnel du critère organique pour l’application du droit communautaire 1) Une immunité d’exécution conférée aux organismes publics 2) L’élargissement par la CCJA du spectre des personnes bénéficiaires de l’immunité d’exécution II) Une restriction du champ d’application du droit administratif A) L’expansion du doit communautaire dans les secteurs d’activité de la puissance publique 1) La soumission du service public aux règles concurrentielles 2) L’immixtion du droit privé dans le domaine des contrats administratifs B) Le contournement du juge de l’administration 1) Le droit pour les personnes publiques de recourir à l’arbitrage 2) La renonciation par l’administration à son privilège de juridiction Conclusion

This seminar paper considers whether OHADA - an experiment in unifying business law in African countries - has been a success. Following a prologue that explains the origins of the paper, the first part of the paper sets out basic information about the Organisation pour l’Harmonisation du Droit des Affaires en Afrique (“Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa,” known by the acronym OHADA). This part is followed by a review of law and development literature to assess the value of this literature for an evaluation of the success (or not) of OHADA. A third part then focuses on one specific uniform law, the law of secured transactions. The paper concludes that notwithstanding challenges the OHADA institutions exist and have produced uniform business laws for the formal business sector. Whether OHADA has been the cause of increased investment and trade requires studies that have not been carried out.

In Europe and especially in France, the African business law landscape, as well as the legal discourse, for developing West African countries is almost exclusively dedicated to OHADA, the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa, created in 1993. While economic development in the Member States is the obvious underlying reason for the modernization and unification of African business law, the exact nature of such development remains uncertain, as does the manner in which a such result can or will be achieved. OHADA’s Uniform Acts are, with some minor exceptions, a carbon copy of French business law. The only goal is to increase international investment, which, in turn, is expected to generate economic development, but all without taking any notice of equality or social justice issues. That, without a doubt, is the reason why OHADA is constantly criticized as a law that benefits foreign investors, while remaining ineffective, even illusory, for local traders. To go beyond the criticism, the authors have decided to focus on the relationship between law and the informal sector and to draw lines between formal and informal rules in the business sector.

The failure by Sothern African Development Community (SADC) countries to fully implement the SADC Protocol on Transport, Communications and Meteorology (the Protocol) and bilateral agreements in regard to road transport negatively impacts the seamless movement of cross border road transport and significantly contributes to the challenges faced by the cross border industry as a whole. The full implementation of the Protocol in regard to road transport, and bilateral agreements would lead to efficient cross border transport regulation and transportation and in turn culminate in reduction of challenges facing the sector. This would lead to reduction of transportation costs, improvement in productivity, and accelerated growth in intra-regional trade, regional economic integration and overall SADC socio-economic development. This paper outlines the extent to which the provisions of the Protocol and bilateral agreements have been implemented by SADC countries and the key challenges emanating from the partial operationalisation of the instruments. The paper is based on findings from engagements with key government and private sector stakeholders in the regional transport environment and various research conducted by the C-BRTA between 2011 and 2014. The partial operationalisation of the instruments has resulted in disjointed regulatory frameworks and inability to: holistically address corridor constraints/ non-tariff barriers, facilitate seamless cross border movements, facilitate liberalisation of access to transport markets in the region, harmonise standards and procedures, and facilitate economic growth and trade between SADC countries. It is possible for the SADC region to realise the aspirations set out in the Protocol and bilateral agreements, and this paper outlines some of the solutions. To begin with, there is need for SADC countries to embrace the need to eradicate the existing self-centric regulatory approach limited to micro-needs and market protectionism. This would need to be underpinned by strong orientation towards the need to achieve macro benefits emanating from a regional perspective in regard to regulating cross border road transport movement. Taking off from this departure point, SADC countries can objectively establish a solid ground towards fully operationalising the Protocol and bilateral agreements. This paper outlines some of the interventions that can be implemented to ensure SADC countries fully operationalise the provisions of the Protocol on transport and bilateral agreements.

This paper explores the feasibility of commercial arbitration as a means to foster the process of Eastern Africa integration. The author proffers an argument in the context of Eastern Africa integration, that commercial arbitration offers a better platform for dealing with commercial disputes that are bound to arise considering the differing personal or state interests in the ongoing Eastern Africa integration, as compared to national Courts. This discourse is premised on the fact that the five member countries making up the East African Community (EAC) have different legal systems and this presents a major challenge in harmonising the various legal systems. This also affects the possible use of courts in managing the potential transnational commercial disputes due to the potentially different rules of procedure and practice. The paper briefly examines the state of commercial arbitration in the EAC Member States with a view to identifying the existing frameworks and any impediments in their effectiveness. Finally, the author makes a case for utilizing commercial arbitration to build bridges and foster Eastern Africa integration for development.

This thesis identifies and defines the new African sovereignty. It establishes a modern sovereignty in Africa hatched from the changing nature of sovereignty in which countries come together at various levels or grades of partial surrender of national sovereignty in order to work closer together for their mutual advantage and benefit. To this end, the narrative zooms in on the central issues within the realms of money matters whereby a new model of monetary sovereignty and monetary solutions is designed in an attempt to ease the recurring tensions and challenges of modern national sovereignty in the continent of Africa. As such, this discussion will offer a historical journey through the constitution of sovereignty, to the birth of the nation state and international public law. It develops the theory of the changing nature of sovereignty within the modern state and opens new lines of inquiry for Africa. In this regard, it draws from juxtaposing and mixing elements of regional and global financial integration as well as retaining national financial sovereignty features to form this new design which I dub continental sovereignty. At its core, the thesis will deal with the legal aspects that stem from the co-mingling of legal systems of nation states and communities at the regional and global levels within the context of financial integration. The argument is that the rule of law remains sacrosanct in monetary management. Effective financial integration is the result of properly structured and managed legal frameworks with robust laws and institutions whether at a national, regional or global level. However, the thesis reveals that in order to avoid undermining the progress of Africa’s financial integration project, any solution for Africa must be immersed within a broader global solution where development issues are addressed and resolved and Africa can form a more central part in all relevant international discussion fora. The work will expound these issues by applying them within a regional and global context, with the state of affairs in Africa forming the nucleus. This application consequently presents the six key themes of the thesis which will be considered therein. They are: a.) regional advantage: which exploits the possibilities of deeper and further financial integration between smaller communal arrangements; b.) regional risk and exposure: the extent to which this deeper form of financial integration can spiral out of control if effected too quickly and too ambitiously; c.) global advantage: which considers the merits of global financial integration and the influence exerted by financial laws on the global financial architecture; d.) global risk and exposure: which considers the challenges of global financial integration especially within the background of the Global Financial Crisis 2007-2008; e.) African challenge: which considers the extent to which this analysis impacts the African economic and financial integration agenda; and f.) development challenge: which examines the extent to which global development issues impact the African solution (continental sovereignty) and the need for any solution for the continent to be roped into a broader global solution within which Africa can form an important part. Even though the thesis requests an optimistic undertone on the progress made so far, it unearths the African problem of multiple national sovereignty and multiple overlapping regional sovereignty constituted as the ‘spaghetti bowl’ dilemma. As such, the unique contribution to knowledge on financial integration in Africa can be echoed in these words: Africa‘s financial integration agenda has had little success in authenticating a systematic and dependable legal framework for monetary management. Efforts made have been incomplete, substandard, and not carefully followed through particularly reflected in the impuissant nature of the judicial enforcement mechanisms. Thus, the thesis argues that, any meaningful answer to the problems dogging the continent is inter alia deeply entrenched within a new form of cooperative monetary sovereignty. In other words, the thesis does not prescribe the creation of new laws; rather it advocates the effective enforcement of existing laws.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) was initially established as a coordination conference in 1980 and was transformed into a treaty organisation in 1992. Challenges of lack of coordination, inefficiency and lack of policy harmonisation led to the amendment of the Treaty in 2001. While the amendment of the Treaty served to address some of the challenges of the organisation, it failed to address the core challenge of the democratic deficit inherent in SADC s governance framework. While the SADC Treaty has as part of its principles and objectives the observance and promotion of democracy and the rule of law, both in its own processes and in its Member States, the design of the SADC institutions does not reflect these normative values. Governance of SADC is characterised by excessive executivism under the overarching powers of the Summit of Heads of State or Government. This democratic deficit is most prominently evidenced by the suspension and eventual disbandment of the SADC Tribunal, the only judicial organ of the organisation. The suspension and disbandment of the Tribunal, in addition to the obvious issue of legality that it raises since it was done in the absence of Treaty amendment, also raises the fundamental question of decision making in SADC in general, as the current treaty framework does not provide for meaningful conversation between and among the key institutions of SADC in matters involving policy formulation and implementation. There is also no institution with a strong oversight role in SADC. There is need for constitutional change in SADC if the organisation is serious in its commitment to achieve its objectives, which it has defined as its Common Agenda. This study proposes a treaty based reform process that is informed by the institutional model of shared governance. One of the several core tenets of this model is that in an organisation, there should be meaningful conversation among the internal stakeholders before a decision is made. For such conversation to be meaningful, there should be the broadest possible exchange of information among the components of an organisation. The proposals made by this study include transforming the Secretariat into an effective institution that formulates SADC laws and policies as well as their implementation frameworks; creation of a SADC parliament that would play a meaningful role on the amendment of the SADC Treaty and in the adoption of the budget; and an independent and accessible judicial body with significant powers of review. Shared governance as conceptualised in this study is not a substitute for, nor does it compete with related concepts like constitutionalism, separation of powers, the rule of law and participatory democracy, but in fact complements them. In addition to these proposals, there is a recommendation for the adoption of a robust access to information regime in which the shared governance institutional model would be anchored. There is also a recommendation for a new regime of law making through community legal instruments that would be directly applicable in Member States as opposed to the largely ineffective protocols.

Domestic laws on the African continent have been considered inadequate to attract the investment needed for development and economic growth. A crucial catalyst in attracting investment on the continent is law reform. The formulation of legislation has twofold effects: firstly, it is perceived to mitigate the risks associated with doing business in Africa; secondly, it legally obligates African governments to comply with standards of protection accorded to international investors through the regulation of the business environment. The formulation of legislation is a key determinant of the quality of investment attracted to the continent. This Chapter assesses how the Organization for the Harmonization of African Business Law (OHADA) has contributed to regional integration and economic growth on the continent.

Until recently, doing business in developing countries, and in Sub-Saharan Africa in particular, was associated with high risk. Although each investment decision is associated with some risk, there are always obligations incumbent on host States in that regard. However, when domestic law is too obsolete to match the requirements of an evolving investment and commercial environment which it is supposed to regulate, and when its effects are unpredictable, one of the fundamental conditions for attracting investment goes missing. This eventually underscores the need for a legal reform. The phenomenon of 'globalisation' on the one hand, and the need for (developing) countries to integrate their economies into the global market, on the other hand, considerably accentuated the postulate of development through law.Against this background, some African countries, at the dawn of the 1990s, felt a need to 'modernise' their legal systems for the major part inherited from colonialism. In this vein, they entrusted a supranational organ, the OHADA, to perform that legal reform. This paper is an attempt to test the OHADA against the discourse of law as a development engine. Furthermore, this is an assessment of the extent to which OHADA, as a legal tool, could be useful in serving the purpose of regional integration and economic growth in Africa.

The promotion of international trade is seen as one of the important instruments to ensure development in developing nations and regions. The history of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the drafting of many regional and similar international trade agreements are evidence of this. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is no exception.1 It is therefore strange that many states that are members of the WTO and actively encourage the opening up of international borders to free trade do not include public procurement2 in such free trade arrangements. This is particularly evident in developing states. If the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), which is a plurilateral agreement, is considered it is clear that many states do not wish to open their internal markets to competition in the public procurement sphere. It is therefore not surprising that public procurement has been described as the last rampart of state protectionism (Ky, 2012). Public procurement is an important segment of trade in any country (Arrowsmith & Davies, 1998). It is estimated that public procurement represents between 10% and 15% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of developed countries and up to 25% of GDP in developing states (Wittig, 1999). Unfortunately, governments often expect private industry to open up national markets for international competition but do not lead the way. Except for the limited use of pooled procurement,3 no specific provision is at present made for the harmonisation and integration of public procurement in the SADC. In view of the proximity of the member states, the interdependency of their economies and the benefits that can be derived from opening up their boundaries to regional competition in public procurement, the possibility of harmonisation and deeper integration in this sphere needs to be given more attention. The importance of public procurement in international trade and regional integration is twofold: first, it forms a substantial part of trade with the related economic and developmental implications; secondly, it is used by governments as an instrument to address socio-economic issues. Public procurement spending is also important because of its potential influence on human rights, including aspects such as the alleviation of poverty, the achievement of acceptable labour standards and environmental goals, and similar issues (McCrudden, 1999). In this article the need to harmonise public procurement in the SADC in order to open up public procurement to regional competition, some of the obstacles preventing this, and possible solutions are discussed. Reference is made to international instruments such as the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the Model Law on Public Procurement and the GPA. In particular, the progress made in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) with regard to the harmonisation of public procurement, which was based on the Model Law, will be used to suggest possible solutions to the problem of harmonising public procurement in the SADC.