The revised OHADA Uniform Act on Arbitration (the Arbitration Act) and revised Rules on Arbitration of the Joint Court of Justice and Arbitration (the CCJA) (the Rules), as well as the new Uniform Act on Mediation (the Mediation Act), entered into force on 15 March 2018. The fruit of nearly two years of consultations among the 17 Member States of the Organisation for the Harmonization of Corporate Law in Africa (OHADA), these new acts will apply to all proceedings initiated as of such effective date. These acts had all been approved on 23 November 2017 by the OHADA Council of Ministers.

The revised Arbitration Act and the Rules, which replace previous versions dated 1999 and 1996 respectively, are in line with the rules and regulations of key arbitration-friendly jurisdictions and leading arbitral institutions. The most significant changes include: (i) provisions for arbitration arising under investment treaties or investment laws; (ii) the binding effect of multi-tiered dispute resolution clauses requiring the parties to undertake negotiation, mediation and/or conciliation prior to commencing arbitration; (iii) various measures to improve the efficiency of the proceedings, including permitting the parties to agree to the waiver of setting aside proceedings and very tight time limits to rule on requests for recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards and on requests for setting aside of awards; and (iv) measures to increase transparency in arbitration, notably by allowing the publication of excerpts of arbitral awards.

The Mediation Act introduces a legal framework for mediation in the OHADA jurisdictions for the first time. Although international businesses operating in the region have been increasingly using mediation to resolve their commercial disputes, the lack of a framework often resulted in disorganised mediation procedures and problems regarding recognition of settlements reached in mediation. The new Mediation Act significantly modernises the mediation scene in the OHADA and will be a welcome reform for foreign investors and local business partners alike.

While all these new acts are without doubt a positive step towards offering investors a predictable and efficient arbitration and mediation framework within the OHADA region, it remains to be seen whether, in practice, the local state courts and the CCJA will succeed in implementing the new rules.

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