M.Com. (Economics) / This dissertation examines the level of trade between African states in general and West African states in particular. After discussing the background history of the continent and setting out the purpose and nature of the study in Chapter 1, the dissertation examined various international trade theories in Chapter 2. Economic and other arguments for and against free trade or more protection, as well as forms and examples of economic integration and co-operation are discussed in Chapter 3. There are very strong arguments in favour of free trade since both developed and developing countries undeniably benefit from trade, and specially from free trade. In Chapter 4, the performance of Africa in world trade and trade between various countries of the continent was examined. The formation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS, the review of the economy of the ECOWAS region and the review of economies of some member states, were set out in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 examines intra-ECOWAS trade and assesses the successes and failures of the Community. Finally Chapter 7 contains a summary of the findings of the study. The dissertation draws some tentative conclusions based on the findings on intra-African trade in general, and intra-ECOWAS trade in particular. It seems that most African countries do not realise that it is necessary to unite in order to break away from the vicious circle of poverty in which they find themselves. The leaders of Africa today, unlike the leaders of the 1960s and early 1970s, fail to recognize the economic importance of the unity of the continent. It was a vision of the final economic emancipation of the African continent that led the earlier leaders to promote the idea of a continental unity ...

It is universally acknowledged that international trade and cooperation have become key drivers of SMEs. Indeed, the success of SMEs in the sales sector depends upon their capacity to conquer the foreign market and compete with larger companies. Many SMEs today, in particular those in Central and West Africa, are very much aware of this reality. However, because of differences between domestic laws and their maladjustment, many African SMEs still struggle to enter the international market and compete with larger companies. It is therefore obvious that any SMEs that want to succeed in international commerce today will be called upon to confront different regulations, whether domestic, regional or international, which are often shaped according to the realities and expectations of a particular environment. The challenge today is to regulate and harmonise these different legal systems, in order to render the law identical in numerous jurisdictions. This process of unifying the law internationally, in particular the law of sale, started in 1920 and culminated in 1988, with the implementation of the CISG. This Convention, which has become the primary law for international sales contracts, endeavours to deal with this problem of differences in law between states on a global scale, by attempting to achieve a synthesis between different legislations, such as civil law, common law, socialist law, and the law regarding industrialised and Third World countries. Even though the CISG appears to be a compromise between different legal systems, the fact remains that it is not yet applicable in many countries, especially those in Central and West Africa, which are mostly still ruled by domestic and regional law, namely the OHADA. The purpose of this study is to attempt to analyse and compare the OHADA’s Uniform Act Relating to Commercial Law to the CISG, in order to identify similarities and differences between the two, and to determine, with regard to the operating mode and structure of SMEs in West and Central Africa, which one of the two legislations is more appropriate. / Private Law / LL. M.