Equality of the parties in arbitration in the OHADA area

Franz KAFKA wrote in his book The Trial (1925) that: [...] Justice must be immobile otherwise its scales will tip and there can be no fair trial. In the author's view all justice whether State institutional or private initially presents guarantees of equality but when the adjudicatory function wavers under considerations other than the law of the parties then that justice becomes a scourge. The problem addressed in this book is that of the effectiveness of the equality of the parties as provided for by OHADA law. Is this equality de facto or de jure? The answer to this problem recalls in the first part the legal framework of the equality of the parties in particular the provisions of the OHADA arbitration law which are also inspired by the ICSID conventions and the model laws of the UNCITRAL. However the implementation of this principle is not without difficulties particularly with the famous ADIDAS conflict of interest case in France as well as the complexity of multiparty arbitrations and the eternal question of arbitrators' remuneration. Therefore in the second part of the book some suggestions are made.