Termination of Commercial Sale Contracts under the OHADA Uniform Act Relating to General Commercial Law

Abstract

The Uniform Act relating to General Commercial Law of the Organisation for Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (hereinafter referred to as the OHADA Uniform Act) establishes a commercial sale regime applicable to any trader (natural or legal person), including any commercial companies whose place of business or registered office is located in the territory of a party to the Treaty on the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa. In this study we propose to analyse the non-performance of commercial sale agreements, focused on its termination regime, by reflecting on the right of termination, the termination by judicial means, its grounds, exemption from liability and the effects of termination. The economic and legal relevance of the commercial sale contract justifies the opportunity to reflect on how legal standardisation process has been achieved overall, particularly with regard to termination regimes. Both OHADA Uniform Act and the Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods of 1980 (CISG) were conceived as unification mechanisms to circumvent the constraints and legal uncertainty associated with cross-border trade. Therefore, this analysis aims to assess how OHADA rules embody the long process of evolution in French law, as well as the influence of the CISG.

Keywords: Uniform Act relating to General Commercial Law for Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa, International Organisations, OHADA, Commercial sale contracts, Termination regime, CISG, French law, Portuguese law, Legal standardisation, Comparative law