The OHADAC Seminar was held from 28 to 30 June 2017 at the Cuban National Hotel, Havana-CUBA. The event was jointly organized by the Cuban Society of Business Law of the National Union of Jurists of Cuba, and the Cuban Court of International Commercial Arbitration (CCACI), in collaboration with the ACP Legal Association, the driving force behind the OHADAC project.

The seminar saw the participation and contribution of high-level Cuban authorities, including the Cuban People's Upper Court, represented by one of its Vice-Presidents; the Ministry of Foreign Trade, represented by its Minister, Mr. Rodrigo MALMIERCA DIAZ; the Union of Jurists of Cuba, represented by its President, Mr. José Alexis GINARTE GATO; the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, represented by its President, Mr. Orlando HERNANDEZ GUILLÉN; the Cuban International Commercial Arbitration Court, represented by its President, Professor Rodolfo DAVALOS FERNANDEZ, and the members of these prestigious institutions.

The seminar also brought together over 150 legal experts from across the Greater Caribbean area, as well as Spain, the United States and France.

The seminar was opened by addresses by the Cuban authorities, followed by the presentation of Mrs. Catherine SARGENTI, President of ACP Legal Association, who recalled the context of the OHADAC project, outlining its progress and prospects.

Works undertaken during the 3-days seminar include taking stock of the progress of the application and the interpretation of all the texts OHADAC organized around four workshops: OHADAC principles for international commercial agreements; OHADAC arbitration and conciliation; the OHADAC model law of private international law; and the OHADAC model law of commercial companies.

As part of the OHADAC arbitration workshop, Mr. Jean Alain PENDA, coordinator of the OHADAC project, discussed the role of an arbitration institution based on the OHADAC Regional Arbitration Centre model.

There were three defining moments which marked the end of the Congress:

• The signing of the cooperation agreement between the ACP Legal Association and the Cuban Court of International Commercial Arbitration (CCICA)
• The unanimous approval of the La Havana OHADAC seminar Declaration, noting, among other things, the support provided by Cuban institutions and lawyers for the highly anticipated creation of the OHADAC Regional Arbitration Centre.
• The emphatic announcement by the Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, Rodrigo MALMIERCA DIAZ, in favor of the OHADAC project, confirming the Cuban government's support for the setting up of the OHADAC Regional Arbitration Centre.

For further information, please contact:

Dr. Jean Alain Penda
Email: japenda@ohadac.com