Procedures
Belgian-derived procedure with OHADA enforcement since 2012
Civil procedure derives from Belgian colonial codes, with commercial courts established in the 2000s and OHADA's enforcement Act applying since accession. The Cour de cassation heads the ordinary courts.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction â Tribunaux de paix, de grande instance and de commerce; Cours d'appel; Cour de cassation; the CCJA for Uniform Act questions.
- Deadline â Appel: one month from service
- Deadline â Injonction de payer: opposition within fifteen days
Governing law
- Code de procédure civileDécret du 7 mars 1960, as amended
- Loi n° 002/2001 portant création des tribunaux de commerce
- Acte uniforme portant organisation des procédures simplifiées de recouvrement et des voies d'exécution
In practice
OHADA accession in 2012 changed Congolese enforcement more than adjudication: the injonction de payer and the harmonised voies d'exécution replaced procedures dating to 1960, while the court hierarchy and the route to judgment remained Belgian-derived.