Schwenzer, Ingeborg

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EDITORIALAfrican Conference on InternationalCommercial LawIngeborg Schwenzer*On 13-14 January 2011, the First African Conference on International Commer-cial Law (ACICOL) took place in Douala, Cameroon. During the two-day event,over 150 delegates discussed global legal standards in the fields of arbitration,international sale of goods and general contract law, such as those prepared byUNCITRAL and UNIDROIT, with a view to strengthening the framework forinternational trade law in Africa. The efforts of OHADA - the Organization forthe Harmonization of Business Law in Africa - a body which harmonizes businesslaws in 16 francophone countries (the Democratic Republic of Congo is in theprocess of joining) was part of the focus.This conference, in addition to contributing to the promotion of a soundbusiness climate for business operators enabled company managers, companylegal advisers, legal practitioners, judges and other judicial actors to becomeacquainted with current developments in commercial law. Most importantly, itenabled participants to create fruitful relationships among themselves, while pro-viding a forum for a rich exchange between law experts.The Conference addressed four topics. 1) International Sales Law, 2) Interna-tional Commercial Arbitration, 3) Unification of Contract Law and 4) the Futureof International Commercial Law in Africa. In each session, there were papersfrom highly ranking academics and professionals from western countries andfrom Africa. It was thus possible to generally exchange knowledge and experi-ences. Furthermore, in two panels, young researchers from all over the world pre-sented papers on various areas of commercial law.This issue of EJLR collects the papers given at the First African Conference.A. International Sales LawIn this session, on the one hand, the first focus is put on the commercial law as ithas been unified in the OHADA Acts (Issa-Sayegh). Two other papers discuss thequestion whether and why the CISG (UN Convention on Contracts for the Inter-national Sale of Goods) would be most suitable for African states (Date-Bah,Schwenzer), thereby again comparing the CISG to the Acte uniforme sur le droitcommercial general (AUDCG). Finally, the paper by Ramberg presents the INCO-TERMS 2010 that entered into force on 1 January 2011.* Dr. iur (Freiburg, Germany), LL.M. (Berkeley, USA), Professor for Private Law, University ofBasel, Switzerland.European Journal of Law Reform 2011 (13) 3-4 341Ingeborg SchwenzerB. International Commercial ArbitrationAlthough the interest in international commercial arbitration is steadily growingin Africa, too, it is still not comparable to that in many parts of the developedworld. In his paper, Fry sets the scene why arbitration is promoting economicgrowth and investment especially in developing economies. From the side ofOHADA, Kenfack Douajni presents the African situation and compares it to inter-national developments. Finally, Roodt analyzes problems regarding internationalarbitration in South Africa.C. Unification of General Contract LawUnification of general contract law is not only discussed in Europe and on a globallevel, but also, especially in Africa, again mainly by OHADA. The UNIDROIT Prin-ciples of International Commercial Contracts (PICC) are considered to be a possi-ble blueprint for such an endeavor. Vogenauer gives a general overview of thePICC as a model for law reform. From the OHADA viewpoint, Ngom points outthe possible unification measures. The prospects and limits of a unification ofcontract law in southern Africa are outlined in Wandrang's paper. Finally, MooreDickerson emphasizes the opportunities of a unification of contract law for theinformal sector that still plays an important role in African economy.D. Future of International Commercial Law in AfricaThe last panel was dedicated to the future of international commercial law inAfrica. Castellani, legal officer with UNCITRAL, gives a report about the currentstatus of international trade law in Africa and suggests that a trade law reformalong international conventions in Africa is likely to be beneficial. From the sideof UNIDROIT, Mestre devotes her attention to the importance of the instrumentselaborated by UNIDROIT for the future development of commercial law in Africa.Finally, the paper by Agaba draws the picture of the situation in the East AfricaCommunity (EAC) and makes the case for harmonizing the commercial law in thisregion and ratifying international commercial instruments.E. Young ResearchersThe papers of the young researchers encompass a broad field of internationalcommercial law and arbitration, ranging from a comparative analysis of differentsets of international arbitration rules (Bebohi), questions of validity of arbitrationagreements in China (Lianbin/Yang), corporate governance under the OHADAUniform Act on Company Law (Kameni), the legal framework for e-commerce inAfrica (Ewelukwa), free movement goods in the West African Economic and Mon-etary Union (UEMOA) (Bougouma), the Uniform Rules for International Trans-port of Goods (Branellec), specific problems concerning investments in China,European Journal of Law Reform 2011 (13) 3-4342African Conference on International Commercial Lawexemplified by a recent case (Bu), to the future of agreed sums payable uponbreach of an obligation (Hachem).European Journal of Law Reform 2011 (13) 3-4 343

Editorial: African conference on international commercial law

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Editorial: African conference on international commercial law

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