Public Policy and Ohada Uniform Acts

By conferring public policy status on the legal standards contained in the Uniform Acts of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA), the OHADA legislator seems to have departed from the objective sought by the OHADA Treaty signed on October 17, 1993 in Port-Louis (Mauritius). According to the Treaty, common standards must be simple, modern and adapted to the economies of the States parties. However, in view of the imperative or rigidity that characterizes public policy, it could be realized that public policy provisions are incompatible with the flexible legal approach advocated for a given uniform act. Mechanisms therefore need to be found to bring public policy provisions into line with uniform acts. This change would involve adjusting the framework for expressing public policy provisions in uniform acts, firstly by deregulating said public policy provisions and, secondly, by opting for a new legal approach known as "regulation".