Advisory function

In advisory, CCJA is empowered to giveadvisory Opinion at the request of any State Party, the Council of Ministers or by a national court seised of a dispute concerning the OHADA and which is still pending before it.

Arbitral function

Besides his cassation court assignments of decisions on annulment of arbitral awards CCJA plays a specificrole in institutional arbitration. It administers the procedures and rules on cassation proceedings to contest validity.

Institutional arbitration OHADA

On one hand, the institutional CCJA administers arbitrations underitsumbrella, including:
Adopting the list of arbitrators;
designating and / or confirming the referees and organizing arbitral proceedings without interference to the bottom.
On the other hand, the CCJA exercise of jurisdiction for arbitrations. As such, itorders the enforcement of awards made underitsaegis and, in case of appealcontesting the validity of an arbitration award, shallsit in full. The Arbitration Centre is part of the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration. It issupervised by a Secretary General under the direction of the President of the Court.

Any dispute submitted to the institutional arbitration of the CCJA canbesettled by a sole arbitrator or by threearbitrators. If the parties agreed to a sole arbitrator, the latter isappointed by the parties or by the CCJA if theyfail to agreewithinthirty (30) daysfrom the notification of the request for arbitration to other party.
If an arbitration withthreearbitratorsisheld, either party - in the arbitration request or the response to it - appoint an independentarbitrator for confirmation by the Court. The appointmentis made by the Court in case of abstention of one party. The thirdarbitrator, whoshall chair the arbitral tribunal isappointed by the Court, unless the parties have providedthat the arbitrators have been designatedshouldbe the choice of the thirdarbitratorwithin a specifiedperiod. In the latter case, itis for the Court to confirm the thirdarbitrator. Finally, if the time limitfixed by the parties or allowed by the Court, the arbitratorsappointed by the parties wereunable to agree on the thirdarbitratorappointed by the Court.
Similarly, whenseveral parties plaintiff or defendant, must submit to the Court of joint proposals for the appointment of an arbitrator and thatthey do not agree on time, the Court may appoint the entire arbitral tribunal.

List of Arbitrators of the CCJA

In February of eachyear, the CCJA meets in college training to determine the list of persons to beappointed to arbitration underitsaegis. Nominations are receivedthroughout the year. Arbitratorsmaybeselectedfrom the list of arbitratorsestablished by the Court and updatedannually. The Court'smemberscan not be on thislist.
To name the referees in a given case, the Court takesintoaccount the nationality of the parties, the place of residence of the latter and the place of residence of theircounsel and arbitrators, the language of the parties, the nature of the questions litigation and possiblylegislationchosen by the parties to governtheir relations.
In order to make the appointments, and to establishitslist of arbitrators, the Court may, whenitdeemsitdesirable, first taking the opinion of practitioners of recognizedcompetence in the field of international commercial arbitration.
In all cases, the arbitral tribunal must beconfirmed by the CCJA before the procedurecan not bevalidlyconducted.

Powers of CCJA in arbitration

If arbitration wasorganizedunder the aegis of the Court (institutional arbitration), the Court has the power:
either to order the enforcement of the arbitral award in the absence of protest;
or, in case of dispute the validity of the award, to verify the regularity of the arbitration proceedings. If the procedurewasirregular, the Court refusingenforcement and annul the award.
The Court declared the irregularprocedure, refusingenforcement and or cancel the award in at least one of the following:

• if the arbitrators have ruledwithout an arbitration agreement or a void or expired arbitration agreement;
• if the arbitrators have ruledwithoutcomplyingwith the mission entrusted to them;
• when the adversarialprinciplewas not respected;
• if the awardiscontrary to international public policy.

In case of cancellation of the award, the Court mayrefer the substance of the dispute if all parties sorequest. Otherwise, the procedure must berepeated at the request of either party from the last pleadingrecognized as valid by the Court.

Enforcement of arbitral awards

Once rendered, an awardmaybevoluntarilyexecuted by the losing party; voluntaryexecutionfault, the party that won the case Obtains the Recognition of the President of the CCJA and canthenenforce the award in all OHADA member countries, withoutfurtherproceedings. The awardmayalsobeperformed in other countries, if the losing party has graspeditwell.
Currently, OHADA has initiated a review of the textsrelating to arbitration (the Uniform Act on arbitration and the Arbitration Rules of the CCJA), to whichitisplanned to integratelegislationmediation in commercial matters. This reformwillcomplywith international standards in this area and provide more opportunities for the settlement of business disputes whilereassuringeconomicoperators.