Bibliographie sélective OHADA

Ce travail a pour objectif d'analyser la nature et l'ampleur des tentatives d'institutionnalisation d'un régime régional de sécurité dans le cadre de la communauté des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (CEDEAO). Elle part du constat que la fin de la guerre froide et la globalisation ont provoqué un changement dans la nature de la conflictualité et changé la donne pour l'ONU et les grandes puissances dans le domaine du maintien de la paix. Face à la multiplication des conflits internes et régionaux, on observe l'émergence de nouveaux acteurs de sécurité qui leur contestent le monopole des opérations de maintien de la paix et de la sécurité. En Afrique de l'Ouest, sous l'action de la CEDEAO, on assiste à partir de 1990 à la "sécurisation" progressive d'enjeux non militaires (politique, social, économique et environnemental) avec comme objectif, la mise en place d'une communauté de sécurité. En nous appuyant sur les cas empiriques d'interventions de la CEDEAO au Libéria, en Sierra Léone et en Guinée-Bissau entre autres, nous analysons pourquoi et comment la régionalisation des opérations de paix a produit des transformations, notamment une politique d'intégration et une reformulation des enjeux sécuritaires dans la région. Cela nous conduit à appréhender la CEDEAO comme région et comme acteur de sécurité dans le champ des relations internationales. En recourant à différentes approches (fonctionnalistes, constructivistes, réalistes), nous explorons d'une part le processus régional de sécurisation au plan empirique et institutionnel, et d'autre part les difficultés, les apprentissages et les jeux d'acteurs dans le champ des opérations de paix. Dans la mesure où ce dernier est ouvert et investi par différents acteurs, se pose également la question de la coordination de leurs interventions.

The evidence of developments in the harmonization of international business laws shows that Africa is lagging seriously behind. There are still some skeptical voices about the need for and the value of harmonization of international business laws, but such voices are now in a minority. The aim of this paper is to assess the prospects for harmonizing international business laws in Africa. The main contention is that the debate today in Africa is not whether or not there should be harmonization of international business laws, but how this should be done. The paper reviews the imperatives for harmonization and the options that exist and then focuses on the present approach to harmonizing business laws in Africa under the auspices of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Laws in Africa, better known under its French acronym, OHADA. Based on the critical review of the weaknesses and strengths of the OHADA regulatory framework, the paper suggests ways in which the agenda to develop a harmonized and modern set of business laws in Africa can be achieved.

L’articulation du droit uniforme et des droits nationaux constitue l’une des questions les plus importantes pour le développement d’un système juridique cohérent, particulièrement dans sa composante normative. A cet égard, la supranationalité des normes ohada consacrée par l’article 10 du Traité OHADA et l’interprétation dont en a fait la Cour commune de justice et d’arbitrage constituent une solution de principe . Malheureusement, force est de constater que la supranationalité de normes ohada ne permet pas de les résoudre tous les conflits entre les normes ohada et les normes internes des Etats membres. C’est le cas de normes constitutionnelles des Etats membres qui peuvent entrer en conflit avec les normes primaires et les actes uniformes de l’OHADA.

Ever since the colonial era, attempts have been made throughout the various regions of Africa at building supranational units chiefly for administrative and legal convenience. Examples of such attempts include the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, the East African High Commission and the federations in former French West and Equatorial Africa, all of which were attempts at forging a supranational nation state. These experiments laid the foundation for further supranational initiatives in post-colonial Africa. In this respect, every region in Africa has either experimented with or is currently experimenting with the idea of supranational regional organisations. This article aims at investigating selected attempts at supranationalism on the continent, the successes and failures of such experiments, and the lessons to be learnt from them. As Africa embarks on the journey of solidifying its unity through the establishment of leviathan continental institutions, efforts should be geared towards building on the experiences of past and present experiments at the sub-regional level. Such experiments offer instructive lessons as they are rooted in similar historical and social contexts.     

The World Bank legal review gathers this input from around the world and compiles it into a useful resource for all development practitioners and scholars. The subtitle of this volume, legal innovation and empowerment for development, highlights how the law can respond to the chal-lenges posed to development objectives in a world slowly emerging from an economic crisis. The focus on innovation is a call for new, imaginative strategies and ways of thinking about what the law can do in the development realm. The focus on empowerment is a deliberate attempt to place the law into the hands of the poor; to give them another tool with which to resist poverty. This volume shows some of the ways that the law can make an innovative and empowering difference in development scenarios. Development problems are complex and varied, and the theme of innovation and empowerment naturally has a broad scope. Consequently, this volume reaches far and wide. It considers the nature, promise, and limitations of legal innovation and legal empowerment. It looks at concrete examples in places such as Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, and Latin America. It considers developments in issues with universal application, such as the rights of the disabled and the effectiveness of asset recovery measures. The theme of legal innovation and empowerment for development complements substantive and institutional sensibilities in current development policy. Substantively, development policy discourse seems to have moved away from tacking hard toward statist policy or neoliberal policy. Although this brief introduction cannot do justice to the richness and complexity of these contributions, it does consider each focal point in turn.

In a region where there is diversity of laws, the author maintains that law reform is a catalyst for investment and development. This thesis aims at demonstrating that OHADA provides practical lessons for the development of a uniform commercial law structure in the SADC. This is following OHADA’s success in developing uniform commercial rules that are directly applicable in the contracting states. To achieve this, the thesis uses a “structured focused comparison” methodology that allows for two separate, but structurally linked accounts of the structures of both organisations. In exploring the structures of both organisations, the thesis endeavours to: determine whether there is the need for the development of a commercial law structure in the SADC; whether such a structure can be developed within the current SADC structure and whether OHADA can serve as a possible model for the SADC. The findings show that no part of the African continent has witnessed regional legal reform on the scale of that initiated by OHADA. It equally reveals the absence of a uniform commercial law structure in the SADC and the lack of supranational structures to adopt full panoply of business laws and to preserve the uniformity of laws in the member states. The findings from this thesis provide evidence that there is the need forthe development of a commercial law structure in the SADC and improvement of the current SADC structure. There is no doubt that thi swould do away with legal uncertainty in cross-border commercial transactions among SADC states.

To reflect the growing trends in the international scene and in furtherance of the objective of its Revised 1993 Treaty, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) summit in December 2006 revolutionised the structure of ECOWAS by re-designating the Executive Secretariat into a quasi-independent commission headed by a President with a Vice President and seven commissioners. The rationale behind the revision was to make ECOWAS a supranational entity. This article considers whether or not a supranational system is essential for the attainment of ECOWAS' objectives. It asks if the conditions for an effective supranational system are in place in the West African sub-region which could provide a solid foundation for its success and why the quest for a supranational system has not yielded any fruitful result in West Africa. It argues that a retreat from the quest for supranationalism and a return to an inter-governmental system would be a retreat rather than the way forward, and expresses the need for the course of action to be sustained courageously till the impact of integration begins to emerge, and the disguised, patriotic impulse of states to protect their national sovereignty gives way to the full manifestation of ECOWAS as a supranational entity.   

The title of this contribution concerns the sovereignty of OHADA’s States as a solution or a problem of juridical integration. In our analysis, we consider that the States of the OHADA’s area are the main actors of this integration. In fact, the States express their sovereignty towards organs and tools of OHADA. In one hand, the way States express their sovereignty enable to have the same law amongst OHADA’s States. In another hand, by allowing any State to have his own criminal law (as far as sanctions are concerned) the aim of integration (unification) has been jeopardized. The solution of this problem is to have the same penal approach.

This study is concerned with integration efforts on the African continent. This study sets out to investigate the politico-legal and economic impediments to regional and continental integration efforts in Africa. The documents, processes, and organs of the African Union, as the main continental organisation, are the focal point of this study. In order to achieve this, the study primarily adopted a qualitative approach since the literature involved in this work could not be reduced to a quantitative concept. The study ensured that the premises and the conclusions in this work conform to the principles of reliability and validity and in addition the elimination of bias in this was curtailed by validation and triangulation. This was achieved by the fact that the arguments in this work were not only based on qualitative arguments but, where possible, quantitative data was brought in to validate/ triangulate the qualitative arguments. Evidently, the study would have been incomplete if it did not discuss and evaluate the many regional economic communities that have been established to further the objectives of the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community. One of the major premises that this study discovers is that there is a direct and demonstrable relationship between democracy and economic progress; genuine and sustainable development has to be fostered primarily by securing peace and stability on the African continent. Some of the other key findings of the study include that; a) the ultimate goal of the African Union is full political and economic integration leading to the United States of Africa; b) overlapping memberships to a custom unions are highly detrimental to the state since it has to subscribe resources and political will to two or more different arrangements. c) overlapping memberships cause confusion, inertia and most importantly legal uncertainty thereby stifling trade liberalisation efforts; d) many African states still guard their sovereignty closely and that many perceive that yielding their sovereignty to a continental body is tantamount to losing their independence; e) the African Union infrastructure still lacks supra-national and national institutions that are capable of implementing its values; f) the African Union infrastructure does not contain an institutionalised mechanism for the promotion and management of Union affairs at national level; g) the NEPAD initiatives, the APRM process and the functions of the Peace and Security Council play a positive role in African politico-legal and economic development. It has however been shown that these mechanisms are more reactive than preventative and as such intervene too late in the internal affairs of member states; h) armed conflicts cause a reduction in the per-capita Gross Domestic Product growth rate of a nation experiencing a civil war/ conflicts. i) the African Union has regressed from the original timelines of the African Economic Community. The highest regression being Phase 2 which involves the most critical element of strengthening of African regional integration arrangements and the harmonisation of policies concerned. A thirteen (13) year postponement is noted in this regard. j) Africa's poor intra-trade performance is also attributed to the limited progress among African countries in fostering structural transformation. This structural transformation relates to the building of roads, bridges, railway lines and power grids; In order for the African continent to re-position itself in an attempt to harness the benefits of regional integration, some of the recommendations that the study makes are that; a) the African Union grant supra-national status to institutions of the Union for the equitable and speedy attainment of integration; b) the Union and member states should as soon as possible create mechanisms with decision making powers to manage Union affairs at regional and national level; c) the operationalization of the Pan African Parliament should be pursued with the utmost determination to bring the Parliament to full functionality as a Continental legislative body; d) the operationalization of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights be completed as soon as possible in order to allow the body to function as a fully-fledged continental judiciary. This will ensure that the development of integration jurisprudence from an international law perspective is not delayed. The Court will also pursue the enforcement of Human rights norms and practices; e) the Union should further lead the continent in the following sectors with clear and predictable deliverables; i) the establishment and upgrading of regional land, air, and other means of transportation and communication; ii) the creation of a cross-border power and energy generation and distribution network; iii) the establishment, advancement, and diversification of regional financial and commodity markets; iv) the establishment of a regional higher education system by facilitating wider access through specialization in regional integration; The study further acknowledges that these recommendations are not conclusive since the study of regional integration is still at its infancy and many other ideas on how to strengthen African regional integration still await discovery.

There is enough evidence on how climate change consequences will adversely affect Africa despite the fact that it is the continent that has least contributed to the problem. The international climate change regime recognises Africa's vulnerability to climate change and provides for special treatment under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the UNFCCC). Thus, the international climate change regime presents an opportunity for African countries to adapt and mitigate the consequences of climate change through the UNFCCC mechanism. However, the international climate change legal regime has not been able to adequately assist African countries to address the consequences of climate change under the vulnerability principle. Although the current international climate change regime requires developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Africa needs to take steps itself to address the problem, because it is most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. The African Union (AU) could play a great role in ensuring that the international climate change regime addresses the consequences of climate change in the region. This could be done through fostering strong African common positions during international climate change negotiations. A strong common position could strengthen African bargaining power and might result in more funding, capacity building and technology development and transfer for adaptation and mitigation programmes under the UNFCCC-Kyoto Conference of Parties. However, reaching a strong common position requires the cooperation of the AU member states. In this context, African regional integration is an opportunity for the AU to foster such cooperation among member states. The Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (the Abuja Treaty), the Constitutive Act of the AU and the Protocol on the Relations between the AU and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) prioritise regional economic integration and call for states' cooperation, but the call has not yet been heeded. To realise deep and viable African integration, there must be a well-structured institutional and legal framework that defines the relationship between the AU, the AEC and the RECs. African regional integration is also seen as an avenue whereby the AU can create its own regional climate-change regime. In this regard, the AU's and RECs' normative framework on climate change is examined in order to assess whether it adequately integrates climate change issues. This study finds that although Africa is most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, the AU's and RECs' normative framework on climate change is weak and inadequate to address the problem. The Framework should integrate climate change issues in order to achieve sustainable development. The AU should also ensure that member states ratify the relevant treaties and protocols (the Maputo Nature Convention and the Protocol establishing the African Court of Justice and Human Rights) that have not yet been ratified in order that they may become operational. The Maputo Nature Convention puts sustainable development in the forefront of attention as a reaction to the potentially conflicting environmental and developmental challenges facing the continent (such as climate change), but it is not yet in force. This work finds that human rights law can strengthen the AU's role in addressing climate change through its normative framework. The human rights approach to climate change under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Banjul Charter) is a viable avenue because human rights law forms the basis for states' responsibility based on human rights obligations and principles. The extraterritorial application of the Banjul Charter presents an avenue for AU institutions such as the Human Rights Commission and the African Human Rights Court to curb the effects of climate change through a human rights lens. The future of the AU is presented within the context of a set of recommendations that identify strong African regional integration as an avenue through which the AU can foster the cooperation of member states to address the consequences of climate change in the AU's and RECs' normative frameworks. General recommendations are made on the need for the international climate change regime to pay more attention to issues of funding, capacity building and technology development and transfer on the basis of the vulnerability principle and in relation to the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. Also, the AU needs to strengthen its legal and institutional structures to ensure deep African integration that is capable of addressing common challenges such as the consequences of climate change.

The thesis considers the approaches followed by the European Union with the Brussels Regime, the federal system of the United States of America under the ‘full faith and credit clause’; the inter-state recognition scheme under the Australia and New Zealand Trans- Tasman judicial system; as well as the convention-approach of the Latin American States. It finds that the most suitable approach for the SACU is the negotiation and adoption by all SACU Member States of a multilateral convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, comparable to the 1971 Convention of the Hague Conference on Private International Law; the EU Brussels I Regulation and the Latin-American Montevideo Convention, as complemented by the La Paz Convention. It is imperative that a proposed convention should not merely duplicate previous efforts, but should be drafted in the light of the legal, political and socio-economic characteristics of the SACU Member States. The current legislative provisions in force in SACU Member States are compared and analysed, and the comparison and analysis form the basis of a proposal for a future instrument on recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments for the region. A recommended draft text for a proposed Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments for the SACU is included. This draft text could form the basis for future negotiations by SACU Member States

Cette thèse propose une théorie générale des normes internationales qui prescrivent l'existence ou l'inexistence d'une règle interne. Cette entreprise, qui est une première dans la doctrine de droit international, présente, à titre principal, deux intérêts. Premièrement, elle démontre que le concept de normes internationales prescrivant l'existence ou l'inexistence d'une règle interne permet de décrire une partie fondamentale du droit international positif, habituellement présentée au moyen d'autres concepts très connus, en particulier le principe de primauté ou de supériorité du droit international et le conflit ou la contrariété entre droit international et droit interne. Deuxièmement, en s'appuyant sur 250 instruments et 750 jugements, extraits principalement du droit des affaires, du droit de l'environnement, du droit des droits de l'homme, du droit pénal, du droit du travail et du droit de l'Union européenne, cette thèse prouve qu'il existe un régime commun à l'ensemble des normes internationales qui prescrivent l'existence ou l'inexistence d'une règle interne. This thesis establishes a general theory of international norms which prescribe the validity or the invalidity of an internal rule. This research, the first of its sort to be undertaken in international legal doctrine, follows two principal lines of enquiry. Firstly, it demonstrates that the concept of international norms which prescribe the validity or the invalidity of an internal rule provide a basis on which to describe a fundamental part of positive international law, usually presented by mean of well-know others concepts as the principle of primacy or superiority of the international law, and the conflict or contradiction between international law and internal law. Secondly, this thesis draws on more than 250 legal instruments and 750 judgments, relating principally to business law, environmental law, human-rights law, criminal law, labour law and European Union law, to illustrate the existence of a coherent regime governing all international norms prescribing the validity or the invalidity of an internal rule.

Le régionalisme est un phénomène qui a pris de l'ampleur dans le monde, en général, et sur le continent africain en particulier. L'Afrique découvre le phénomène en même temps qu'elle expérimente l'étatisme, la forme d'organisation sociopolitique sous laquelle le continent s'est émancipé de ses anciens colonisateurs. Des indépendances à nos jours, en dépit de sa constance, le phénomène a connu une redynamisation, qui l'a conduit à une certaine unité théorique. Face à la constance du phénomène, l'on est en droit de s'interroger sur sa logique (MATTI, 1999), sur sa raison d'être. En partant d'une approche sociologique des relations internationales, aucun phénomène, aucune organisation spécifique n'est le fruit d'un hasard : chaque institution répond à un besoin donné. C'est de cette hypothèse qu'est parti le présent projet de recherche, qui s'est assigné pour objectif d'expliquer la rationalité du régionalisme, en général, et de sa dimension extérieure, c'est-à-dire, l'unité de front face au monde qu'elle constitue, en particulier. Le besoin d'un front d'action collective dans les relations internationales est évident pour les Etats africains, en proie à une marginalisation croissante dans les relations internationales. L'Etat africain manque, à lui seul, des facteurs, notamment le facteur structurel, qui pourraient inverser la tendance. Il lui faut par conséquent, d'autres approches. Le régionalisme est l'une de celles-là. L'étude s'est focalisée sur le sous-continent ouest africain, pour les besoins de vérification empirique. Elle s'est également inscrite dans le cadre des relations commerciales internationales pour y analyser le potentiel d'action internationale des organisations d'intégration africaines. Dans ce cadre, au-delà de l'explication de la ratio legis de la fonction de représentation extérieure commune -la fonction qui consiste pour une organisation à unifier et / ou coordonner l'action extérieure de ses membres, l'étude a porté sur l'existence théorique des conditions juridiques d'exercice de la fonction par deux des principales organisations d'intégration de la sous-région que sont la Communauté Economique des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (CEDEAO) et l'Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest africaine (UEMOA). Il s'est révélé qu'en dépit de quelques incertitudes résiduelles que la pratique peut aisément lever, ces organisations s'inscrivent bien dans cette logique de servir d'interface à leurs membres pour une action collective efficace dans les relations commerciales internationales. Bien au-delà de l'investigation théorique, l'étude a scruté le terrain empirique, pour se rendre compte de l'exercice éventuel de la fonction dans la pratique des organisations ouest africaines. Elle a examiné les conditions de leur présence dans le système juridique commercial multilatéral (le système de l'OMC) et leur implication dans un dossier qui semblait constituer une porte d'entrée dans l'arène de la diplomatie commerciale multilatérale, en l'occurrence, le dossier du coton africain à l'OMC. Leur implication y a été, malheureusement, en deçà de leur possibilité d'action. Toujours est-il que, d'un point de vue empirique, l'étude a examiné la participation des deux organisations dans la négociation de l'Accord de partenariat économique (APE) Afrique de l'Ouest - Union européenne. Dans ce dossier, les organisations ouest africaines ont fait preuve d'un certain leadership, affichant ainsi leur détermination à assumer cette fonction de représentant de la région. Certes, les résultats sont encore incertains, mais un certain satisfecit se dégage dans le camp ouest africain, pour avoir résisté face à l'avalanche des négociateurs européens. Le seul point critique demeure dorénavant l'aménagement de la participation des Etats dans le mécanisme de représentation commune, de façon à ce que chacun y voit individuellement un instrument de sa politique extérieure, pour une durabilité du dispositif. Un affinement dans ce sens renforcera et rendra réelle, la fonction de représentation extérieure commune dans les mains des organisations ouest africaines. Regionalism is a growing phenomenon in the world in general, and particularly on the African continent. Africa experimented at the same time regionalism and the modern state. From independence to the present days, despite its constancy, the phenomenon has been reinvigorated, leading to a degree of theoretical unity. Faced with the constancy of the phenomenon, we are entitled to question its logic (MATTI, 1999), its raison d'être. From a sociological approach to international relations, no phenomenon or specific organisation arises by chance: each institution responds to a given social need. This is the starting point for the present research project, which has set itself the objective of explaining the rationality of regionalism in general, and of its external dimension, that to say, the blocs it constitutes regarding the rest of the world, in particular. The need for a collective action in international relations is obvious for African states, which are increasingly marginalised in international relations. The African state, left alone, lacks the factors, particularly the structural factor, that could reverse the trend. It therefore needs other approaches. Regionalism appears to be one of them. The study focused on the West African sub-region, for the purposes of empirical verification. It also looked at international trade relations in order to analyse the potential for international action of African integration organisations. In this context, in addition to explaining the ratio legis of the function of common external representation - the function that consists of an organisation unifying and/or coordinating the external action of its members - the study focused on the positivity of legal conditions for the exercise of this function by two of the main integration organisations in the sub-region, namely the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) It turned out that, despite a few residual uncertainties that can easily be resolved in practice, these organisations are very much in line with this logic of serving as an interface for their members to ensure effective collective action in international trade relations. In addition to theoretical research, the study also looked at empirical evidence of how West African organisations perform this function in practice. It examined the conditions of their presence in the multilateral trade legal system (the WTO system) and their involvement in an issue that seemed to constitute a gateway into the arena of multilateral trade diplomacy, in this case the African cotton issue at the WTO. Unfortunately, their involvement fell short of their potential. Still from an empirical point of view, the study examined the participation of the two organisations in the negotiation of the West Africa-European Union Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The West African organisations have shown a degree of leadership in these negotiations, demonstrating their determination to represent the region. Admittedly, the results are still uncertain, but there is a certain satisfaction in the West African camp for having withstood the avalanche of European negotiators. The only critical point from now on is the way in which the States participate in the common representation mechanism, so that each one sees it individually as an instrument of its foreign policy, to ensure the sustainability of the mechanism. Refining the mechanism in this way will strengthen and make real the function of common external representation in the hands of West African organisations.

O presente trabalho de pesquisa tem por objetivo analisar a origem e os fundamentos da Cooperação Internacional para o Desenvolvimento (CID), com ênfase na Cooperação Sul-Sul (CSS), no sentido de que esta possa atuar como instrumento potencializador do desenvolvimento nacional da República da Guiné-Bissau. Para tanto, o trabalho se estrutura em três capítulos onde se analisa interdisciplinarmente os fundamentos da CID e da CSS. Neste sentido, igualmente analisa o funcionamento da CID na República da Guiné-Bissau e indica uma proposta para o desenvolvimento da República da Guiné-Bissau a partir do Documento Estratégico Nacional para a Redução da Pobreza, do fortalecimento das instituições, das capacidades, da participação do setor privado e das oportunidades de uma parceria estratégica com a República Federativa do Brasil.

The purpose of this research is to explore the need for, and the legal implications of, harmonising labour laws in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Chapter One highlights a number of factors that call for the harmonisation of labour laws in the SADC region and discusses some of the reasons why labour laws are not well developed in the region. The influence of globalisation on labour standards in southern Africa and the influence of regionalism on the harmonisation of labour laws are discussed at length. The inference that could be drawn from this discussion is that for a regionalisation process in southern Africa to be successful, there is an urgent need to harmonise the region’s labour law system. This thesis confirms that Southern Africa has many lessons to learn from the regional harmonisation of labour law in the European Economic Community and the current European Union. The implementation of international labour standards in southern Africa is investigated. The main areas examined include (1) freedom of association, (2) collective bargaining, (3) forced labour and (4) discrimination. The findings of this investigation show that there is no uniformity in the implementation of International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards in the SADC region and, therefore, it is recommended labour law should be harmonised in terms of ILO standards. In respect of the benefits to be derived from the harmonisation process, an empirical investigation was conducted in the SADC region and the following is recommended: the harmonisation of labour law in the SADC region will help with the implementation of ILO standards, protection of workers against the economic power of employers in the workplace and maintaining similar benefits for migrants in the region.

This paper examines the current dynamics of regulatory reforms in Africa and its implication on the continent. It analyses the highly political struggle for regulatory dominance of business law in Africa and how this interacts with the preferences and power of select international actors. It illustrates that the struggle between Francophone and Anglo-Saxon sections of society for OHADA to reflect their ideological stance is having a negative effect on the harmonisation process.

Meeste Afrikastate is klein en het nie die vermoë om effektief aan prosesse van die Wêreldhandelsorganisasie deel te neem nie. Hierdie onvermoë, saam met ander faktore, is die hoofrede vir die voortgesette marginalisering van die kontinent in die globale ekonomie en handel. Ten einde effektief aan genoemde prosesse deel te neem en in die voordele van die geglobaliseerde wêreld te deel, moet Afrikastate integreer. Regionalisme of integrasie is nie ’n doel op sigself nie maar is nodig vir die ekonomiese groei van Afrikastate. Dit skep groter markte vir handel en belegging en is ’n aansporing tot groter effektiwiteit, produktiwiteit en mededingendheid. In die lig hiervan stel die artikel drie kernargumente. Die eerste is dat regionalisme voordele bied wat Afrikastate kan ontgin ten einde marginalisering op globale vlak te oorkom. Die tweede argument is dat, terwyl die Suider-Afrikaanse Ontwikkelingsgemeenskap (SAOG) poog om besigheidsreg te harmoniseer, die Organisation for the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) (Organisation pour l’Harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires) as voorbeeld kan dien aangesien dit reeds die grondslag gelê het vir die harmonisering van besigheidsreg in Afrika. Die derde argument is dat die SAOG-tribunaal verbeter moet word ten einde ’n meer regionale regsraamwerk binne die SAOG daar te stel. In hierdie verband belig die artikel sommige voordele van regionalisme in Afrika, die lesse wat die SAOG by OHADA kan leer, die voordele van ’n geharmoniseerde besigheidsreg teen die agtergrond van die OHADA-ondervinding en die moontlike wyses waarop die SAOGtribunaal verbeter kan word.

La notion de souveraineté est souvent analysée, interprétée et critiquée sous un angle purement individualiste, comme appartenant à l'État. Toutefois, en raison de la pluralité des États qui caractérise le droit international, la souveraineté est une notion nécessairement pluraliste. L'analyse de la structure normative et institutionnelle de l'ordre juridique international montre effectivement que la souveraineté appartient à l'ensemble des États et signifie et assure leur statut privilégié dans cet ordre juridique. Dès lors, la souveraineté devient une qualité pour justifier les privilèges et les exclusivités des États par rapport aux autres entités de la scène internationale: tout dérive des États et tout doit nécessairement et obligatoirement passer par les États. Cependant, il existe un certain nombre de phénomènes qui affectent cette configuration état-centrique de l'ordre juridique international. Il s'agit notamment des phénomènes dits de la mondialisation qui font fi des divisions spatiales fondées sur l'organisation politique des États. Dans ce processus de mondialisation qui rend floues et in effectives les frontières étatiques, le rôle des États se trouve de plus en plus affaibli et remis en question. L'émergence de nouveaux acteurs représentatifs et des normativités alternatives est la manifestationde cette évolution qui va dans le sens d'un dépassement de la conception état-centrique du droit international et, par conséquent, d'une remise en question de la souveraineté des États.