English version of the ohada treaty and ohada uniform acts has now. The performance indicator by the project closing date is the approval of five uniform acts. The ohada treaty also created a supranational supreme court with jurisdiction over the areas of law covered by the uniform acts the cour commune. Cameroon is a party to the process of drawing up ohada uniform acts, it is obvious that cameroon can argue for the inclusion of elements of its common law into any proposed uniform act. Following on from the 1993 treaty on the harmonization of business law in africa, the uniform act relating to commercial companies and economic interest groups was adopted on 17 april 1997. Organization for the harmonization of business law in. Ohada uniform act on arbitration arbitration notes. The longawaited english version of the ohada treaty and ohada uniform acts has now been formally published in the special edition nov. The council of ministers of the member states1 of thetreaty for the organization for the harmonization ofbusiness law in africa ohada adopted a newuniform act on security on 15 december 2010 thenew uniform act. This innovation is far more important that that caused by the adoption of the european regulation. As a complement to this preliminary official publication, foubla is delighted to a.
Ohada is a system of corporate law and implementing institutions adopted by seventeen west and central african nations in 1993 in port louis, mauritius. This uniform act shall apply to every trader irrespective of whether he is a natural or corporate person and shall include all commercial companies of which a. The uniform act on the commercial companies law and the gie economic interest group of 17 april 1997 was revised by the new uniform act adopted on 30 january 2014 and published in the official gazette of ohada organisation for the. Organization for the harmonization of business law in africa ohada the uniform acts in brief. Although this concept of nationality was outlined in the original 1997 treaty, certain implicit provisions that were ambiguous have now been explicitly outlined or reformulated in the uniform act. The deadline of 5 may 2016, set by the organization for the harmonization of business law in africas ohadas new. The content appearing on this site is for general information purposes only and made available on an asis basis. Law harmonization and local specificities a case study. Theuniformactorganisingcollectiveproceedingsfor 2 thewipingoffdebts 2. Examples are given of the uniform acts on arbitration and on recovery procedures and measures of execution, and reference is made to the debate concerning the possible application of the future uniform act on the law of contracts to civilian as well as to commercial contracts.
Ohada uniform act relating to commercial companies and economic interest group 3 section 2 commitments made on behalf of the company under formation prior to its incorporation. The foundation for a unified business law in africa foubla congratulates ohada for the publication of english versions of most of the uniform acts and the ohada treaty in the special edition nov. Where the agent acts for the benefit of creditors of the secured debt or debts, he shall so expressly state and every registration of a security done in the course of. A new ohada uniform act on insolvency and restructuring in. Ohada is the french acronym for the organisation for the harmonisation of business law in africa, which was founded on 17 october 1993 with the port.
The ohada treaty also created a supranational supreme court with. Legal integration in francophone africa results in particular from the uniform acts adopted by the organization for the harmonization of business law in africa ohada, established by. New ohada uniform act streamlines collective insolvency. All economic interest groups shall also be subject to the provisions of this uniform act. Ohada includes 17 member states member state of west and central africa, almost all of. Within the framework of the reform and modernization program of existing uniform acts led by the permanent secretary, the council of ministers of ohada authorized in 2007 the revision of the uniform act organizing collective proceedings for the wiping off debts. Although the uniform acts have been translated into and published in english, it is widely. Responding to increased economic and foreign investment across africa and to establish the organization for the harmonization of business law in africa ohada as a trustworthy arbitral institution, the ohada council of ministers has revised the uniform act on arbitration law and the rules of arbitration of the common court of justice and arbitration ccja. Compilation of treaties and uniform acts official translation the usbased foundation for a unified business law in africa foubla, whose goal is to foster the advancement of ohada. Innovations to the act in late 2015 seek to modernize and simplify collective proceedings in ohada member states. Ohada revises uniform act on commercial companies and gie.
Clifford chance the new ohada uniform act on security. The ohada organisation pour lharmonisation en afrique du droit des affaires treaty is one of the legal reforms in africa aimed at promoting a stable business environment and the expeditious resolution of disputes, by harmonising commercial law within its seventeen 17 member states with a set of uniform acts. Pdf icon organization for the harmonization of business law in africa. However, banks, financial institutions and insurance companies shall be subject to specific charts of accounts. The act now includes provisions for information technologies that contribute towards the smooth running of. Revised uniform act on companies global legal monitor. Almost 18 years after the uniform act on ohada arbitration law was adopted and the common court of justice and arbitration created the ccja, the ohada council of ministers has adopted three new, very important, texts for arbitration and dispute resolution within the ohada area. The new ohada uniform act on security legal integration in francophone africa results in particular from the uniform acts adopted by the organization for the harmonization of business law in africa ohada, established by the treaty signed in port louis mauritius in 1993, entered into force in september 1995. Since the project started, ohada has approved four uniform acts and developed two more that are completed and will be submitted for approval in 2017. Ohada uniform act relating to commercial companies and.
Ohada is the french acronym for the organisation for the harmonisation of business. In addition t o the efforts to revise and update certain of the. November 23, 2017 in conakry guinea date of publication in the official journal of ohada. All of the contracting states to the treaty are subject to this.
Ohada uniform act relating to commercial companies and economic interest group 7 paragraph 5 vacancy on the board of directors paragraph 6 remuneration paragraph 7 end of the duties of directors subsection 2 powers of the board of directors paragraph 1 scope paragraph 2 regulated agreements. Since 12 september 2012, the revised ohada uniform act on security law also applies together with all the other ohada uniform acts to the democratic republic of congo to see our article on the accession of congo to ohada pleaseclick here. States parties, referred to as ohada accounting system and appended to this uniform act on the organization and harmonization of companies accounting. A new uniform act organizing collective proceedings for wiping off debts dated 10 september 2015 the uniform act has been published in the ohada official gazette on 25 september 2015 and will enter into force on 24 december 2015. A revised uniform act on commercial companies and economic interest groups the revised uniform act was adopted on 30 january 2014 by the ohada council of ministers. Commercial companies and economic interest groups shall likewise be. Ohada uniform act relating to general commercial law. Release of the official english translation of ohada treaty and. Programme ifc sur le climat dinvestissement ohada 2007. Considering the report by the ohada permanent secretariat and the observations of the states. Article 9 uniform acts shall enterinto force ninety days from the date of adoption, subject to contrary provisions in a particular uniform act the uniform acts shall be enforceable within thirty clear days followingtheir publication in the ohada official gazette. Compilation of treaties and uniform acts official translation. Uniform act under the conditions defined hereinafter, except where otherwise provided.
Abstention shall not prevent the adoption of the uniform acts. After nearly ten years of negotiations within the ohada, a uniform act ua was approved on 15 december 2010 and published on 15 february 2011 in the ohadas official gazette ohada uniform act relating to cooperative companies law. Section 3 commitments made on behalf of a fully formed company prior to its registration. Published in the ohada officialjournal on 15 february 2011, the new uniform actentered into effect automatically in each member state,without any further formalities, on. This means that the drafting of the uniform acts uas, the language of instruction at ersuma, and proceedings at ccja and council meetings are all conducted in french. Ohada is the acronym for the french organisation pour lharmonisation en afrique du droit des affaires, which translates into english as organisation for the harmonisation of corporate law in africa. Release of the official english translation of ohada. The revised ohada treaty incorporated significant changes. The authors conclude that in making ohada law effective, member states face. An impact assessment of ohada reforms uniform acts on commercial, company, secured transactions, and insolvency license.
However, since ohada uniform acts are drafted and published in french, there is a problem of accessibility to nonfrench speaking foreign investors. Article 1 every trader, be he a natural or legal person including all commercial companies of which a state or a person governed by public law is a. The deadline of 5 may 2016, set by the organization for the harmonization of business law in africa s ohadas new uniform act the acton the law of companies and groups of economic interest for harmonizing corporate articles of association with the provisions of theact is approaching. The revised uniform act, which replaces the uniform act of 17 april 1997, was published in the. This client alert also includes the following articles.
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