SESSIONS ON THE UNIFORM ACT ON SIMPLIFIED DEBT RECOVERY AND MEASURES OF EXECUTION

It has been recalled that before the enforcement of Ohada Law in this field, the main complain against the various legal systems of the member states of the Ohada Zone was the legal insecurity due to the mostly unchanged, outdated domestic legislation from the colonial period which resulted in very difficult debt recovering on businessmen' s debtors, and difficult enforcement of court rulings.

The Uniform Act organizing Summary Debt Collection Procedures and Measures of Execution, which brought remedies to these shortcomings, in fact went beyond the strict boundaries of business law and induced a general reform of rules of procedure in civil law relating to debt recovery and measures of execution.

Among The Innovations …

- As to debt recovery proceedings

. Reduced time-limit for appeals notably in injunction to pay proceedings.

. The implicit ending of orders of courts forbidding the enforcement of judgments though with some qualified precisions of the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration.

- As to measures of execution

. the end of execution on standing crops, seizure of pensions and even writs of execution on tenants' furniture and chattels, all henceforth merged in the new category of seizures of movable property ;

. the presumption that seizures are supposed to be valid until proof to the contrary by the debtor if he claims an existing irregularity;

. in the field of seizure of real estate, now irregular legal proceedings provided for under pain of being declared void cannot be rendered void unless there is a proof of damage to debtors.

Among the Shortcomings and Implementation Problems of This Uniform Act …

It is has been underlined that some practical problems resulted from the domestic reform (Law of Aprif 17, 2007), whereas others were related to the Uniform Act itself. Among the ones relating to the Uniform Act :

- In the field of injunction to pay : the existing deadlock at the level of the parties ‘ conciliation phase.

-In the field of measures of execution:

. the difficult situation of garnishees often entangled in disputes they are not concerned with, because of a wrong implementation of the law by judges,

. the difficult implementation of amicable sales in the framework of seizures for sale, the thorny problems of orders of courts forbidding the enforcement of judgments,

. the plight of legal proceedings stopped by the immunity of execution in favour of public and para-statal bodies ;

. but also the difficult implementation of seizure-awards of debts involving banks.