Submitted Abstract
The Organisation for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA for its acronym in French) has been substantially changing the legal landscape of Western and Central Africa for almost twenty years now. Nine Uniform Acts have been adopted in key areas of business law, some of them have already been reviewed several times; and others are being considered. Yet, research on the concrete impact of the entry into force of this significant quantity of regional legal norms is scarce. This workshop aims at gathering practical and theoretical reflections on the receptivity and effectiveness of OHADA Law. Reflections on OHADA Law effectiveness already exist. Yet, an analysis grid remains to be proposed. Our ambition is to put forward a theoretical framework on law effectiveness in a sub-region of legal integration cross-referencing quantitative and statistical data, sociological data relating to the actors of this legal integration (States as well as economical actors) and judicial data, taking into account the particular role of the judge lato sensu in the concrete implementation of rights embedded in Uniform Acts. Such a theoretical framework only bears meaning if it is corroborated and illustrated with concrete examples. Practical illustrations of effectiveness or ineffectiveness of OHADA Uniform Acts do not pretend to cover every aspect of this uniform legislation, but will help envisaging solutions which take more into consideration everyone’s interests.