Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, the courts responsible for commercial claims are as follows:

• At first instance: the Commercial Tribunals (Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso) or the Commercial Chambers of the Tribunaux de Grande Instance for towns without an independent commercial tribunal.
• On appeal: the Commercial Chambers of the Courts of Appeal (Ouagadougou, Bobo-Dioulasso and Fada N’Gourma).
• In cassation: the Commercial Chamber of the Cour de Cassation or the Organization for the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) Common Court of Justice and Arbitration for commercial disputes involving the application of an OHADA legal provision.

Commercial litigation in Burkina Faso is mainly governed by national laws on the one hand, and by community laws on the other.

• National laws: the law on judicial organization in Burkina Faso (Loi portant organisation judiciaire au Burkina Faso), the Code of Civil Procedure and the law on the creation, organization and operation of commercial courts (Loi portant création, organisation et fonctionnement des tribunaux de commerce au Burkina Faso).
• Community laws: these are essentially OHADA uniform acts, of which Burkina Faso is a member.

Pre-action considerations in Burkina Faso include:

• capacity to act;
• standing to sue;
• justification of a legitimate, direct and personal interest; and
• the statute of limitations, the duration of which depends on the subject matter.

The main alternative dispute resolution methods for commercial disputes are mediation, conciliation and arbitration. On January 14, 2026, Burkina Faso adopted a new law establishing a new alternative dispute resolution method. This method is called “Faso Bu-Kaoore.” It is a dispute resolution method based on local traditions and practices. It can be used in all matters, particularly commercial matters.

In Burkina Faso, there is no legal time limit for reaching a court decision in commercial disputes. However, certain specific procedures are subject to statutory time limits. These are generally procedures governed by the OHADA uniform acts, notably the injunction to pay procedure.

To guarantee the adversarial principle in commercial proceedings, the Code of Civil Procedure requires the parties to produce all the documents on which they base their claims. However, the courts are sovereign in their assessment and have the power to order the production of any additional documents.

Witnesses who have been duly summoned are obliged to attend the trial. They may be questioned by the judge and by counsel.

The courts have the legal power to rule on costs. As a rule, costs are to be borne by the losing party. However, the judge may depart from this rule, considering the fairness of the case or the economic situation of the convicted party.

In the context of commercial disputes, the interim remedies that may be ordered by the courts are the following:

• the allocation of provisions for claims that cannot be seriously contested;
• prescription of protective measures or remedial action required either to prevent imminent damage, or to put an end to a manifestly unlawful disturbance;
• appointment of a receiver; and
• various seizures and securities (provisional mortgages or provisional pledges).

Arbitration is an alternative dispute resolution method for commercial disputes recognized by the courts of Burkina Faso. Any natural or legal person may resort to arbitration with respect to any rights where they have free disposal. However, only the state courts have jurisdiction to enforce court decisions and arbitration awards.

In Burkina Faso, arbitration is essentially governed by law n°2017-47 of November 14, 2017 on the modalities of intervention of state courts in matters of arbitration in Burkina Faso, and also by the Uniform Act relating to arbitration law.

In accordance with the Uniform Act on Arbitration, arbitrators have the power to order interim or conservatory measures. However, the enforcement of such measures remains within the jurisdiction of the national courts.

Under the Burkina Faso system, an arbitration award cannot be appealed. It may, however, be the subject of an annulment appeal to the Court of Appeal, which will only be admissible in one of the following cases:

• if the arbitral tribunal has ruled without an arbitration agreement, or on an invalid or expired agreement;
• if the arbitral tribunal was irregularly composed or the sole arbitrator irregularly appointed;
• if the arbitral tribunal has ruled without complying with its terms of reference;
• if the adversarial principle has not been respected;
• if the arbitral award is contrary to international public policy; or
• if the arbitral award is devoid of any statement of reasons.

In addition, the arbitral award may be the subject of a third-party objection or an application for review.

Burkina Faso is a member of OHADA, and national courts apply the uniform acts adopted within the framework of this organization. Judgments and arbitral awards rendered within this framework can be enforced in Burkina Faso after exequatur.

Burkina Faso is also a member of the ICSID Convention.

In commercial matters, final judgments, judgments of first instance with provisional execution and interlocutory order are enforceable.

However, other judgments, particularly those appealed without provisional execution, are not enforceable.

In order to be enforced in Burkina Faso, foreign judgments and arbitral awards must follow the exequatur procedure. Exequatur is granted by a court decision which gives enforceability to the judgment or arbitral award. It is this exequatur decision that is registered with the clerk’s office of the court that pronounced the exequatur.

Foreign judgments and arbitral awards that have become enforceable may be enforced in the same way as domestic decisions. In order to enforce them, the parties concerned may take any enforcement measures provided for by law, in particular seizures of movable property (tangible assets, receivables, goodwill, etc.) or seizures of immovable property.

Under the OHADA Uniform Act Organizing Simplified Collection Procedures and Enforcement Measures (AUPSRVE), certain interim measures can be ordered to guarantee the enforcement of court decisions. These include the precautionary seizure of tangible or intangible assets (debts), or the judicial registration of securities such as provisional mortgages.

Proceeding on the assumptions outlined in the Model Answer, would a court in this jurisdiction recognise and enforce the arbitral award under the New York Convention?

In particular:

• Does the award fall within the scope of Article V(1) of the Convention, or would any of the grounds in Article V(1) justify refusal on the assumed facts?
• Is the subject matter of the dispute capable of settlement by arbitration under domestic law for the purposes of Article V(2)(a)?
• Would recognition or enforcement of the award be contrary to public policy within the meaning of Article V(2)(b)?

Response

Such an arbitral award should be subject to exequatur, as it is not contrary to public policy. In fact, in such an instance a competent court by reason of the will of the parties has already decided the dispute and its judgment has become final. As the parties have concluded an agreement (contract) governing the pecuniary aspects of this judgment, this agreement can be considered as a transactional agreement. It is this agreement which provides that disputes arising from the settlement of pecuniary awards will be submitted to arbitration. Such arbitration, conducted in accordance with the applicable rules, appears to be in order.

However, it is important to remember that in Burkina Faso, arbitral awards are only enforceable by virtue of an exequatur decision issued by the President of the Commercial Court.

Litigation concerning the enforcement of arbitral awards and judgements falls within the jurisdiction of the state courts, and cannot be the subject of arbitration.