Procedures
Code de procédure civile 2008 with a commercial chamber and CCJA appeal
Loi n° 2008-07 governs civil procedure, largely on the French model: written pleadings, an instruction phase, and appeal to the Cour d'appel. On OHADA questions the final appeal lies to the CCJA in Abidjan rather than the Cour suprême.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Tribunal de première instance at first instance, Cour d'appel on appeal, and the CCJA for Uniform Act questions.
- Deadline — Appeal to the Cour d'appel: one month from service of judgment
- Deadline — Pourvoi to the CCJA on a Uniform Act point: two months from service
- Deadline — Injonction de payer: debtor has 15 days to oppose
Governing law
- Loi n° 2008-07 du 28 février 2011 portant Code de procédure civile, commerciale, sociale, administrative et des comptes
- Acte uniforme portant organisation des procédures simplifiées de recouvrement et des voies d'exécution
In practice
The OHADA Uniform Act on simplified recovery procedures supplies the fast debt-collection route used in practice — the injonction de payer — and it, not the national code, sets the fifteen-day window in which a debtor must oppose. Missing that window converts the order into an enforceable title, which is the single most common procedural trap for foreign creditors.