Last month, I received news that a great mentor and colleague at FUBLA and UNIDA, Professor Claire Moore Dickerson, passed away. I feel very fortunate to have been one of the many recipients of her warm and generous spirit.

The OHADA community mourns the passing of Prof. Claire Moore Dickerson, the Senator John B. Breaux Chair of Business Law Emerita, who died on September 2 after a courageous, two-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

Claire died peacefully, pain-free, and surrounded by her family.

Claire was a distinguished scholar of business and comparative law, with a particular interest in the relation between legal and social norms in shaping economic transactions. A permanent visiting professor at the University of Buea in Cameroon, Claire was one of the world's leading authorities on the development of business law in Africa. Devoted to the concept of cross-border understanding on the African continent, she saw the promise of OHADA law, and sought to broaden awareness of this legal system throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and the world, particularly in the English speaking countries.

Fluently bilingual in French and English, Claire's unprecedented scholarly contribution makes her one of the pioneers to the application of the OHADA laws in the English speaking Regions of Cameroon.

Claire will remain my inspirational model. Her inspired and inspiring vision of the practice of law in Africa will be my guide.

Prof. Claire Moore Dickerson's death is a keen loss for OHADA and to all of us.

Dr. Jean Alain Penda