The turning point of the history of OHADA in Africa
The Council of Ministers of OHADA met in Bamako, Republic of Mali, from October 3 to 9, 2005. After that meeting, the Committee of Experts prepared a draft revision to the Treaty of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Laws in Africa, the Treaty signed in Port-Louis (Mauritius) on October 17, 2005.
This meeting generated proposed revisions for several articles of the Treaty. One important change is the creation of a new institution, the Conference of Heads of State and of Government.Another proposal would modify Article 42, the provision stipulating that French is OHADA's sole working language.When the States-Parties will have approved this revision, OHADA will have four official languages: in addition to French, they are English, Portuguese and Spanish.
The amended Treaty will be effective sixty (60) days after the eighth nation will have ratified the changes.The updated document is a significant step toward unification of business law in Africa and is wholly consistent with the principal goal of UNIDA (Association for the Unification of Business Laws in Africa) and the website www.ohada.com (Keba Mbaye, Chair).