Pr Jean-Louis CORREA

It is in contemplation of its area of ​​application that the OHADA process raises the most legitimate questions. Like the nation-building policy of neo-independent post-colonial states, Black African legal and social structures have been relegated to a situation of irregularity in favor of a prescribed archetype. The theoretical presuppositions of OHADA stem from a different sociogenesis, accounting for the inability of this body of rules to encompass the diversity of daily actions. A clear distinction should be made between economic integration, the underlying objective, and economic development, the former being only one means among many to achieve the latter.

Moreover, the results in this economic area are mixed after some twenty years of existence for the States. If the economy is not extroverted, it is an essential part of it, called informal, that the OHADA rules of law fail to capture.

From this perspective, the question is whether the commerciality envisaged by OHADA allows for the reality of current economic activities in this area to be taken into account. To do this, it will be necessary to:
– evaluate the criterion of commerciality through its Romano-Germanic conception present in the OHADA area
– seek a relevant and satisfactory criterion that can take into account, or even meet, the development requirements of socioeconomic activities