How the OHADA Injonction de Payer Actually Works
The Uniform Act Organising Simplified Recovery Procedures and Measures of Execution is the instrument that matters. Where a debt is money, certain, liquidated and due, and arises from a contract or a negotiable instrument, the creditor applies to the president of the competent court for an injonction de payer. The application is decided on the documents. There is no hearing and the debtor is not heard.
Once the order is served, the debtor has a short window - fifteen days - to file opposition. If it does not, the creditor applies for the formule exécutoire and the order becomes enforceable. If it does, the matter converts into ordinary contested proceedings before the same court, and the speed advantage disappears.
Everything therefore turns on whether the debtor has a genuine argument. Where the invoices were accepted without protest, the goods were delivered and nothing was ever disputed in writing, opposition is difficult to sustain and is usually not attempted. Where there is a live quality or quantity dispute in the correspondence, the injonction is the wrong tool and we will say so before spending your money on it.
A Regional Supreme Court
Burkinabè commercial decisions on OHADA matters are ultimately reviewable by the Cour Commune de Justice et d'Arbitrage in Abidjan, not by a Burkinabè supreme court. The CCJA has final jurisdiction on the interpretation and application of the uniform acts, and its decisions bind all member states.
The practical effect is that OHADA commercial law is genuinely predictable. A point decided in a Senegalese or Ivorian case is authority in Ouagadougou. It also means that a creditor with claims in several West African states is working inside one body of law rather than seven.
Cotton, Gold and the Coastal Corridors
Burkina Faso is landlocked. Nearly everything imported arrives through Abidjan, Lomé, Tema or Cotonou and travels north by road, and nearly everything exported - cotton lint and gold above all - goes back out the same way. That geography shapes the credit relationship more than the law does.
Two consequences matter. First, the party named on your invoice is frequently not the party that took delivery: a Ouagadougou importer may be buying for a distributor further inland, and a transit agent at the port may have signed for goods it never owned. Second, the cotton trade runs on an annual campaign cycle, and a ginner's ability to pay is a function of where in that cycle you are. Timing a demand badly can turn a collectable debt into a stalled one.
CFA Franc Convertibility
The CFA franc is issued by the BCEAO and holds a fixed parity with the euro under a French Treasury convertibility arrangement. For a European or UK creditor this removes the single largest problem in African recovery: the money can leave.
Transfer still requires documentation supporting the underlying trade - invoices, customs declarations, the contract - through a commercial bank. It is administrative rather than restrictive, but the documents should be assembled before settlement rather than after.
Limitation
Commercial obligations between traders are governed by the OHADA Uniform Act on General Commercial Law, which sets a limitation period for commercial obligations running from when the obligation fell due. Written acknowledgement of the debt, or part payment, restarts it. An aged Burkinabè receivable should be assessed against that period before anything else is decided.
How Long Does a Burkinabè Claim Take?
| Stage | Typical Duration | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Documentary review and demand Confirming the debt is certain, liquidated and due | 2–4 weeks | Low |
| Injonction de payer Application on the documents, no hearing | 4–10 weeks | Low |
| Opposition period Fifteen days from service | 2–3 weeks | Low |
| Contested proceedings Only if opposition is filed | 8–18 months | Medium |
| Execution and transfer Seizure, then bank remittance | 2–5 months | Medium |
How Does SXB Global Handle a Burkinabè Case?
We start by testing the file against the injonction criteria, because that single question decides whether this is a three-month matter or a two-year one. Where the debt is clean we move quickly; where it is not, we say so and negotiate instead of filing. Where legal proceedings become appropriate, SXB Global coordinates the instruction of appropriately authorised local counsel. Legal services are provided by the relevant independent legal professionals.