The UIHJ, the Ministry of Justice of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of the DRC, organised in Lubumbashi from April 12 to 15, 2023, the second training session for the judicial officers of this great country in the centre of Africa on the theme: “The practice of enforcement litigation by the judicial officer”.
The opening ceremony was chaired by the Deputy Minister of Justice, Thadée Mambu Lau Mbemba, representing the State Minister, Minister of Justice, Rose Mutombo Kiese, who was unable to attend. Four speeches marked this ceremony.
The Vice-Governor of the Province of Haut Katanga, Jean Claude Kamfwa Kimimba, on behalf of the Governor of Haut Katanga, welcomed all the guests as well as the judicial officers in Lubumbashi, on this “give and take” meeting.
Francis Ekondji Liloka, President of the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of the DRC, then thanked the Government of his country, in particular the State Minister, Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, for her solicitude and her constant support for the activities of the judicial officers. He also thanked, once again, the UIHJ for its involvement in the work of improving the profession of judicial officer in the DRC before asking his colleagues to make the most of this training, and to capitalise on lessons learned, to meet the expectations of the Government and the Congolese population.
The President of the UIHJ, Marc Schmitz, in turn, recalled the history of the excellent relations between the UIHJ and the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of the DRC, by insisting on the support which the UIHJ grants to the training of judicial officers in this country. After this second training, a training of trainers will follow, in June 2023, in Paris, he added. He welcomed the availability of the State Minister, who does not miss any opportunity to express her support for the profession of judicial officer. This was the case in November 2022, when she honoured with her presence the activities organised in Paris during the 70th anniversary of the creation of the UIHJ. Continuing his remarks, President Schmitz confirmed the full availability of the UIHJ to continue to support the efforts of the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of Congo to have in the DRC, as everywhere else, and in the Ohada area in particular, a high-level judicial officer, guarantee of the good and efficient enforcement of court decisions.
Finally, the Deputy Minister, first thanked the UIHJ for the unfailing support to the DRC Government in the establishment of the profession of judicial officer. He then dwelt on the reforms undertaken by his government since the accession of the DRC to the Ohada Treaty. To date, the related roadmap is running normally, he pointed out, before declaring open the second training session of judicial officers of the DRC. After the family photo and the coffee break, the work consisted of four modules.
The first module dealt with litigation related to obstacles to the implementation of enforcement measures under Ohada law, immunities from enforcement, the grace period, enforcement procedures and collective debt clearance procedures. It was provided by Samuel Ename, President of the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of Cameroon, Secretary General of the Training Unit for African Judicial Officers (Ufohja).
The second module concerned the judge in enforcement litigation (concept, identification, scope of work, initiation of the procedure) and was provided by Jean-Didier Bidié, Honorary President of the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of Congo and Vice-President of the UIHJ.
The third module concerned litigation on enforcement procedures (Seizure of movables: nullity of the documents and the procedure, litigation on the mentions of the document, disputes. Seizure on bank accounts: nullity of the documents and the procedure, litigation on the specificities of the documents, service of documents and time compliance, third-party garnishee, litigation on the status of third-party garnishee and compliance with the latter’s obligations. Seizure on immovable: division of work between the court and the president of the court, appeals against decisions rendered, and difficulties). It was provided by Luc Sowah, President of the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of Togo.
The fourth module concerned the nullity of enforcement documents and the responsibility of the judicial officer (Ethics and deontology, origin of the responsibility, nature of the responsibility, sanctions). He was provided by Chantal Marie Florence Bikay Ngando, Secretary-General of the National Chamber of Judicial Officers of Cameroon.
The four trainers successively enhanced their presentations with PowerPoint slides and practical cases in their workshops, in the light of the decisions of the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration of Ohada (CCJA) on various aspects of enforcement litigation. The method used allowed an effective interaction between trainers and seminarians, to the great satisfaction of the authorities of the Ministry of Justice who, without hesitation, concluded that this seminar was a great success.
During the closing ceremony, the seminarians received written and/or digital materials as well as certificates of participation from the hands of the Deputy Minister of Justice, the President of the UIHJ and the other authorities present at the ceremony.
