A delegation from the UIHJ, represented by its President, Marc Schmitz, and its Vice-President, Jean Didier Bidié, stayed in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo) from 16 to 20 October 2023 to first participate in the 56th meeting of the Council of Ministers of OHADA held on 16 and 17 October at the Hilton Hotel in Kinshasa then, from 18 to 20 October, at the international conference on the thirty years of OHADA.
Placed under the very high patronage of His Excellency, Félix Antoine Tshesekedi Tshilimbo, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and current President of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of OHADA, the activities marking the thirtieth anniversary of the Ohada took place in three essential phases: the « Young Genius » competition, the 56th meeting of the Council of Ministers and the international conference.
56th meeting of the Council of Ministers of OHADA.
The opening ceremony included three speeches, that of the Permanent Secretary of OHADA, the Minister of State, Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals of the DRC, current President of the Council of Ministers of OHADA, and finally that of the Prime Minister, Head of Government of the DRC, Jean Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge, who, on behalf of the President of the Republic, opened the work of the 56th meeting of the Council of Ministers of OHADA.
After this opening ceremony, the Council of Ministers received the technical and financial partners of Ohada. During this session, the UIHJ took the floor to first express its satisfaction that the revision of the Uniform Act on Enforcement appears on the agenda of the meeting, then set the context of this revision and the role that the UIHJ played in it before urging the Council of Ministers to adopt the said draft Uniform Act.
Then, the Council of Ministers worked behind closed doors on an agenda which included six items including that of the examination and adoption of the Uniform Act organising simplified recovery procedures and enforcement proceedings, which was awaited by African judicial officers.
After examination, the new Uniform Act organising simplified recovery procedures and enforcement procedures was adopted by the Council of Ministers to the great satisfaction of all.
The Council of Ministers also appointed the new Director-General of ERSUMA, in the person of Dr Karel Osiris Coffi Dogue, and filled other vacant positions within OHADA institutions.
International conference on the thirtieth anniversary of OHADA.
The inaugural lesson which introduced this conference on the theme: “OHADA, thirty years later: assessment and perspectives” was presented by Professor Joseph Djogbenou, lawyer, associate professor of law, full professor at universities.
After which, this theme was articulated for three days around seven panels and two round tables, designed as follows:
Panel 1: OHADA, its institutions and its States parties.
Panel 2: OHADA and African community organisations: the challenge of peaceful coexistence.
Panel 3: OHADA and its technical and financial partners.
Panel 4: OHADA and the improvement of legal and procedural security.
Panel 5: OHADA and its methods of legal integration.
Panel 6: OHADA and judicial security.
Panel 7: the development of alternative dispute resolution methods in the OHADA area.
Panel 8: the impact of OHADA on the development of economic operators.
Panel 9: OHADA and increased investments.
Institutional round table: View of institutional partners on OHADA.
Institutional round table: Perspective of professionals of law and numbers on OHADA.
The President of the UIHJ participated in the round table on the view of institutional partners on OHADA. He developed the relations between the UIHJ and OHADA, demonstrating the excellence of these relationships, while indicating that they are expected to become more solidified since the appointment of Professor Mayatta Ndiaye Mbaye as Permanent Secretary of OHADA. He took the opportunity to officially announce the organisation by the UIHJ in February 2024 of a training session on the new Uniform Act on Enforcement newly adopted by the Council of Ministers in Kinshasa.
The news was welcomed by the participants, in particular by the Permanent Secretary of OHADA and by the new Director-General of ERSUMA who promised to provide the assistance and expertise of the institution he now chairs.
Finally, the UIHJ delegation visited three judicial officers’ offices located in Kinshasa, in order to see the working conditions of our colleagues as the profession is very recent in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
