Bibliographie sélective OHADA

La blockchain à travers ses fonctions registres et smart contracts constitue un moteur de la confiance. Le registre blockchain, distribué sécurisé et sans autorité centrale, révolutionne la confiance. Le smart contract, adossé à une blockchain, auto-exécutant et inaltérable assure, lui, l'exécution automatique d'actions prédéfinies. Initialement conçus pour le secteur financier, le potentiel de cette technologie s’étend à la RSE en tant que support de la norme. Les smart social contracts seraient en mesure d’automatiser les processus liés à la RSE, tandis que le registre blockchain renforcerait la transparence et la traçabilité. Un cadre juridique clair reste cependant essentiel pour concilier innovation et protection des droits. Définir le rôle de la blockchain dans une démarche de RSE pourrait transformer les interactions des entreprises avec leurs parties prenantes, renforcer la confiance, la transparence, la réactivité et, plus largement, l’effectivité de norme sociétale.

Previous studies on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the construction and property-development domain have mainly focused on countries in the Global North with very few studies in the Global South. These prior studies have defined the pyramid elements (economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic) that make up overall CSR, but none of them have assessed how well corporations performed in relation to each pyramid element, particularly in the property-development industry. Consequently, reflecting on the limited CSR studies in the Global South, this study examines the performance of property-development companies regarding the CSR pyramid elements. The study also assesses the barriers and strategic drivers of CSR among property-development companies. The study employed a descriptive survey research, and questionnaires were administered to 43 property-development companies. Descriptive data analysis was done to rank the relative importance of items from the questionnaire. Results showed that, although companies performed ‘well’ in their legal CSR, and ‘average’ in their economic and ethical CSR, companies performed ‘poorly’ in the area of philanthropic CSR. Lack of support by top management, corruption/lack of transparency, lack of knowledge and awareness by professionals, and lack of regulatory framework were identified as significant barriers to CSR implementation among property-development companies. Vision of founders/support by top management, regulatory framework, stakeholder activism, and good relationship-building are potential key strategic drivers of CSR implementation programmes among property-development companies. Given the findings, it is recommended that property-development companies should integrate CSR principles into their vision and mission statement and consider it to be a business function. This can be done by mitigating the barriers identified through the adoption of strategic drivers as postulated by this study.

La RSE peut s'immiscer en droit des sociétés OHADA au travers des codes de gouvernement, pourvu qu'ils adoptent un changement de paradigme ou de la vision dominante limitée à l'organisation des relations entre les actionnaires et les dirigeants sociaux. Or, pour intégrer les enjeux de la RSE, ces codes doivent élargir leur champ aux différentes parties prenantes à la vie de l'entreprise, notamment des salariés, clients, fournisseurs, créanciers, populations locales et l'État. Un tel changement de paradigme peut se fonder sur la conception mixte de l'intérêt social et la récente consécration du reporting extrafinancier dans l'espace OHADA. Ceci implique par ailleurs que les organisations représentatives des entreprises fassent participer les parties prenantes, en amont, au processus d'adoption et en aval, au contrôle d'application de codes de gouvernement d'entreprise à travers, par exemple, un comité RSE ou ESG.

This study examines Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices in Nigerian public sector organisations using a comprehensive mixed-methods approach. The data collection process involved analysing 185 organisation-year observations from annual reports spanning 2011–2020, as well as questionnaires distributed to key stakeholders and interviews with senior executives from various organisations.The analysis utilised a multi-pronged strategy, including quantitative techniques such as regression analysis to explore the relationship between CSR practices and corporate governance mechanisms and qualitative methods such as narrative analysis and thematic coding to gain insights from survey responses and interviews.The findings indicate that CSR practices in the Nigerian public sector are moving in a positive direction. Organisations demonstrated commitment to CSR activities, including community development, education, environmental conservation, and philanthropy. Survey results showed that 83% of organisations engaged in CSR, driven by community acceptance and moral obligation. Additionally, 84% of organisations complied with regulatory frameworks, and 79% aligned their CSR policies with national or international standards. The analysis also found a significant positive relationship between CSR practices and factors such as larger board sizes, greater board independence, the presence of women on the board, and CEOs with longer tenures, higher educational qualifications, and international exposure.By triangulating these findings, it is clear that organisations have a strong commitment to giving back through various CSR initiatives, such as humanitarian assistance, youth empowerment, and educational programmes. Despite challenges such as budgetary constraints and weak accountability frameworks, organisations recognise the perceived benefits of CSR, including increased public confidence, improved stakeholder perceptions, enhanced organisational reputation, trust-building, community engagement, and empowering marginalised communities through education.The insights gained from this study conducted in an emerging economy namely, Nigeria, provide a new understanding of CSR practices in public-sector organisations. They also highlight the proactive approach of public sector organisations towards responsible practices. Consequently, the implications of this research extend beyond national boundaries, encouraging diverse and dedicated leadership to enhance CSR efforts and create lasting social impact. Future studies could explore comparative analysis between the public and private sectors or different countries, as well as sector-specific impact assessments.

The present study aimed to identify the duties – expressed and implicit – that arise for transnational companies when their economic activities are conducted on indigenous lands or have an impact on them. To this end, identified the most recurrent violations of indigenous peoples' interests regarding the commercial exploitation of their lands or surroundings. Adopting the context of the Krenak people, it was identified that the Krenak, similar to other indigenous peoples, have experienced conflicts on multiple fronts due to large scale projects affecting their territoriality, access to natural resources (with prejudice to their subsistence), and their very way of life and existence. Reflecting on the commitment made to by political entities and their respective branches with the enactment of the Federal Constitution of 1988, the constitutional provisions were interpreted from a historical perspective. It was identified that economic exploitation of indigenous lands -contingent upon legislation - shall, if enacted (because it is not a constitutional duty but a mere possibility), adhere to the criteria previously outlined in the Constitution, including consultation with the peoples concerned, authorization by the National Congress, and the right to participate in the results of the extraction. Furthermore, the principles derived from these criteria include the exceptional nature of exploration, preservation of indigenous wealth - both material and immaterial - and recognition of indigenous thought as a decisive element. It was concluded that these principles entail an extensive list of duties for transnational companies concerning indigenous peoples, which must be implemented with consideration for indigenous worldviews - an underlying assumption for the application of indigenous rights. This list is not static; rather, it should evolve with human rights developments and ensure the ability to address new challenges arising from the relationship between transnational companies and indigenous peoples.

La mondialisation de l'économie de marché ouvre de nouveaux horizons aux entreprises commerciales en étant source de croissance, d'emplois et de prospérité, même si elle engendre aussi des risques, en particulier lorsque les entreprises développent des activités dans des zones en proie à des conflits armés, internationaux ou internes, ou dans des territoires occupés. Les entreprises sont incitées par la société civile et les organisations internationales à tenir de plus en plus compte du droit relatif aux droits de l'homme, qui s'applique tant en période de conflit armé que de paix. Le droit international humanitaire, alors même qu'il est spécifiquement conçu pour régir des situations de conflit armé, qu'il a des effets importants pour elles lorsqu'elles opèrent dans des pays qui connaissent de telles situations, leur est moins connu et fait moins l'objet d'attention par la doctrine, notamment francophone.Un certain nombre de contentieux récents ont soulevé des interrogations en la matière, tant sur le plan de la protection des entreprises par le corpus du droit international humanitaire, que sur celui de la soumission des entreprises à ces règles. Cette thèse analyse l'applicabilité du droit international humanitaire aux entreprises commerciales, à leurs salariés, leurs biens, leurs activités qui peuvent être à la fois des cibles, des victimes, des participants des conflits armés, voire des auteurs de violations du droit international humanitaire, soulevant des interrogations relatives à l'adaptation et la pertinence du DIH à ces entités.

This study primarily aims to identify the social responsibility of Libyan and Palestinian telecommunications companies and their contributions to addressing the negative effects resulting from COVID-19. The study focuses on the companies’ efforts to alleviate the burden on the state and citizens, exploring the most significant social contributions made by these companies in response to the pandemic. To answer the research questions and test the hypotheses, the researchers employed a descriptive and analytical approach. After obtaining the necessary data, a validated and evaluated questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 53 individuals, including financial managers, internal auditors, financial analysts, and accountants working in Libyan and Palestinian telecommunications companies. The results of the study indicated that Libyan telecom companies did not contribute significantly to mitigating the negative effects of COVID-19 by activating their social responsibility roles. This conclusion is supported by the respondents' answers, which reflected a moderate degree of contribution, with a mean value of 3.08 and a relative weight of 61.69%, along with a standard deviation of 0.85 and a significance level (Sig) of 0.686. Similarly, Palestinian telecom companies also did not significantly contribute to mitigating the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic through their social responsibility roles. Respondents’ answers indicated a moderate level of contribution, with a mean value of 3.24, a relative weight of 64.85%, a standard deviation of 0.849, and a significance level (Sig) of 0.256. The study recommends that Libyan and Palestinian telecommunications companies should enhance their social roles in mitigating the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by actively implementing social responsibility initiatives.

An array of governance initiatives has emerged to address forced labour and labour exploitation in global value chains (GVCs). Drawing on the transnational business governance interactions theoretical framework, as well as Timothy Bartley’s place-conscious transnational governance model, this thesis examines the interaction between two of these hybrid forms of governance: multi-stakeholder initiatives and corporate sustainability laws. I conduct a case study of the cocoa sector, and specifically of the multinational company, Nestlé, using multiple qualitative research methods including legal analysis, key informant interviews, and documentary analysis. My research suggests that the layering of corporate sustainability laws, and particularly the French Duty of Vigilance Law, on top of CSR and MSIs in the cocoa sector, is not addressing the governance gap that permits corporations to evade accountability for human rights abuses in their supply chain. I find that the introduction of corporate sustainability laws may have contributed to a decrease in Nestlé's efforts to address labor violations in certain areas, while in others, it appears to have supported the continuation of existing practices. This raises implications for the continuous efforts in various jurisdictions to introduce these laws as a solution to the shortcomings of private, voluntary rule-making systems. Further research is required to explore how these governance mechanisms are interacting in other sectors, in companies of different sizes, and within various types of MSIs. This will help identify the factors that influence interactions and shed further light on the path forward for policymakers.

L'État de la situation sur les impacts sociétaux de l'intelligence artificielle et du numérique fait état des connaissances actuelles sur les impacts sociétaux de l'IA et du numérique, structurées autour des sept axes de recherche de l'Obvia : santé, éducation, travail et emploi, éthique et gouvernance, droit, arts et médias, et transition socio-écologique. Hypertrucages, désinformation, empreinte environnementale, droit d'auteur, évolution des conditions de travail… Le document recense les grandes questions de recherche soulevées par le déploiement progressif de ces nouvelles technologies, auxquelles viennent s'ajouter des cas d'usages et de pistes d'action. Il s'impose ainsi comme un outil complet et indispensable pour accompagner la prise de décision dans tous les secteurs bouleversés par ces changements.