Le défi de l’Organisation pour l’harmonisation en Afrique du droit des affaires face au développement des marchés financiers africains : Quid de la protection des investisseurs

Abstract

By the time the founding fathers of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) signed the Treaty of Port Louis, the financial markets in Western and Central Africa were embryonic. Nowadays the situation has changed and it seems appropriate to reconsider relationship between OHADA law and securities exchange markets. Indeed, OHADA's Community legislation has to deal with the securities markets covered and serve both the proper functioning of the market and the protection of investors. The uniform Act on Commercial Companies and Economic Interest Groupings contains provisions referring to specific financial rules. However, is this sufficient to earn the public trust? Financial market law is a complex discipline. If we supplement this the effort required for investors to find their way between the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) or the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) stock exchange law and national constraints throughout OHADA, the following question must be asked: How is the investor’s interest protected in this legal jungle? This paper tries to analyse the legal mechanisms of investor protection in the WAEMU Regional Stock Exchange and the Central African Stock Exchange, combining them with the uniform law for commercial companies of OHADA.