How Innovative is the New Ohada Arbitration Framework Approved on the 23 of November 2017?

In 2017, OHADA adopted a new Uniform Act on Arbitration (UAA), repealing the previous Uniform Act dated 11 March 1997. This reform is part of an effort to promote and consolidate alternative methods of settling disputes, further illustrated by a new Uniform Act on the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration (CCJA) Rules of Arbitration being revised. The new Arbitration Act aims to make the OHADA space more attractive for dispute resolution. This paper sets out the main aspects of this reform, complemented by the new CCJA arbitration rules. Security, flexibility and efficiency seem to be the essential aim of this new Act. This applies to the different phases of the process of accessing arbitration, from the beginning of the start claim, and through the arbitration process. However, the new arbitrations is not without some lapses as shall be examined in due course.