With\nthe sharp increase in commercial relationships between Europe and Africa in\nrecent years, there are more opportunities to be either directly or indirectly\ninvolved in African legal matters in collaboration with European attorneys or\nlocal African attorneys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\nis a growing number of Japanese companies actually moving into Africa and\nexpanding their business there, but there is much discussion of the numerous\ndifficulties they face in terms of legal disputes. One reason for this is that\nthey are unable to obtain appropriate legal advice, with many African nations\nhaving undeveloped legal systems and little experience with the courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because\nmany African nations have inherited or been strongly influenced by the legal\nsystems of the European countries to which they are connected historically,\nultimately, they are often an extension of Western practices. Attorneys who\nhave been educated in Anglo-American law or in France would be able to handle\nlocal legal matters to a considerable extent by using the OHADA Treaty,\nalthough they will require some level of collaboration with local or European\nattorneys. Countries with a strong European influence also have a greater\naffinity with international arbitration and the like than Asian countries. It\nis, therefore, extremely common for arbitration clauses to be included in\ncontracts, and the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is very popular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On\nthe other hand, environments where corruption is rife, societies place\nimportance on loyalty over contract, and where the rule of law is weak are not\nuncommon. Given such a foundation that is so different from the West, there are\ncases in which being influenced by local rules has caused serious problems to\noccur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For\nthis reason, prevention before legal disputes occur is important, and it is\nessential to give staff dispatched to the region and locally engaged staff at\nleast a basic knowledge of the law and to raise their awareness of compliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With\nattorneys at our firm who are able to respond in English and French, Kitahama\nPartners will provide Japanese companies with full support so they can devote\nthemselves to their business, avoiding as much as possible the burden of\ncultural and language differences in their legal matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n