OHADA's Proposed Uniform Act on Contract Law

Abstract:     
The draft uniform act on contracts proposed for adoption by the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Laws in Africa ("OHADA") is a combination of continental and common-law concepts. To be effective in parts of the world where the informal sector is particularly important, for example in the 16 West and Central African states where OHADA currently operates, contract law must be particularly attentive to avoiding traps for the unwary. For this reason, enforcing gratuitous contracts may well be defensible, but requiring registration of commercial actors is not. The complexity of two OHADA laws applicable to contracts, however, increases the risk that law and norms will not overlap, creating just such a trap.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 17

Keywords: contracts, comparative law, norms

Accepted Paper Series