Law and Development à l'Africaine: Evidence from the OHADA's Harmonisation Process

African Yearbook of International Law, Vol. 20 (2013-2014), pp. 321-355.

Bocconi Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2524339

25 Pages Posted: 15 Nov 2014 Last revised: 9 Jun 2019

See all articles by Regis Y. Simo

Regis Y. Simo

Queen's University Belfast - School of Law

Date Written: October 1, 2014

Abstract

Until recently, doing business in developing countries, and in Sub-Saharan Africa in particular, was associated with high risk. Although each investment decision is associated with some risk, there are always obligations incumbent on host States in that regard. However, when domestic law is too obsolete to match the requirements of an evolving investment and commercial environment which it is supposed to regulate, and when its effects are unpredictable, one of the fundamental conditions for attracting investment goes missing. This eventually underscores the need for a legal reform. The phenomenon of 'globalisation' on the one hand, and the need for (developing) countries to integrate their economies into the global market, on the other hand, considerably accentuated the postulate of development through law.

Against this background, some African countries, at the dawn of the 1990s, felt a need to 'modernise' their legal systems for the major part inherited from colonialism. In this vein, they entrusted a supranational organ, the OHADA, to perform that legal reform. This paper is an attempt to test the OHADA against the discourse of law as a development engine. Furthermore, this is an assessment of the extent to which OHADA, as a legal tool, could be useful in serving the purpose of regional integration and economic growth in Africa.

Keywords: Law and Development; Rule of Law; Institutions; Reform; Africa; OHADA

JEL Classification: K20, K33, N40, N47, O19

Suggested Citation

Simo, Regis Y., Law and Development à l'Africaine: Evidence from the OHADA's Harmonisation Process (October 1, 2014). African Yearbook of International Law, Vol. 20 (2013-2014), pp. 321-355., Bocconi Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2524339, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2524339 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2524339

Regis Y. Simo (Contact Author)

Queen's University Belfast - School of Law ( email )

Main Site Tower, Queen's University Belfast
Belfast, BT7 1NN
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofLaw/

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