Conakry (Republic of Guinea), 23 and 24 November 2017

On 23 and 24 November 2017, the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Conakry (Republic of Guinea) hosted the proceedings of the 45th Session of the Council of Ministers of OHADA. As usual, this session was preceded by the preparatory meeting of the Committee of Experts.

The opening ceremony was chaired by H.E. Mamady YOULA, Prime Minister and Head of Government of the Republic of Guinea. The working sessions were conducted by H.E. Cheick SAKO, Minister of State, Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals of the Republic of Guinea and Chairperson in office of the Council of Ministers, in the presence of Prof. Dorothé C. SOSSA, Permanent Secretary of OHADA.

At the start of its works, the Council of Ministers, as usual, listened to the message delivered by the OHADA's Technical and Financial Partners (PTF). It continued behind closed doors and deliberated on items on the agenda of this important session.

At the end of its deliberations, the Council of Ministers set the budget for the 2018 financial year, which is balanced in terms of resources and employment, at the sum of 4,962,661,424 FCFA.

Still regarding financial issues considered, the firm KPMG Afrique Centrale was appointed as External Auditor of OHADA for 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Concerning its normative activities, the Council of Ministers adopted three key instruments that revolutionize the OHADA's legal arsenal on alternative dispute settlement, namely:

• a new Uniform Act on the Law of Arbitration, which replaces the Uniform Act of 11 March 1999 and enhances transparency, swiftness and efficiency of arbitral proceedings in the OHADA area;
• a revised Arbitration Rules of the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration (CCJA), which aims to strengthen the independence and competitiveness of the CCJA arbitration center through a better alignment of its Rules with the Uniform Act on Arbitration Law and International Best Practices, while taking into account the specific context of OHADA Member States;
• a tenth Uniform Act on Mediation, to fill the existing legislative gap in this domain in most OHADA Member States and to promote this amicable settlement mechanism.

These new instruments are likely to strengthen the confidence of local and foreign investors, and significantly improve the business climate in the OHADA space.

To strengthen the human resource capacity of OHADA's Institutions, the Council of Ministers appointed, according to merit, five new Judges to the CCJA, in order to replace the judges whose term of office expires. They are:

• Mr BERTE Mahamadou, Judge (Mali);
• Mr DEMBA Claude Armand, Judge (Congo);
• Mrs NGO MOUTNGUI ép. IKOUE Esther, Judge (Cameroon);
• Mr MINIME Arsène Jean Bruno, Judge (Central Africa Republic);
• Mrs HOHOUETO Afiwa-Kindena, Judge (Togo).

Considering the significance and quality of decisions taken by the Ministers, the 45th Session of the Council of Ministers will have a lasting impact on the future of OHADA. Under the chairmanship of the Republic of Gabon, which will govern the Organization's destiny for 2018, OHADA will consolidate these achievements and explore new avenues for improving the business climate in its Member States.

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The Permanent Secretary
Prof. Dorothé C. SOSSA
Source: www.ohada.org