Persons and entities who habitually engage in commercial activities in Cameroon are by the OHADA law referred to in French as ‘commercants’. Commercial operators have certain rights under the OHADA law which are not available to persons or entities who do not enjoy commercial status. However, certain specific requirements and liabilities are also imposed upon them. In their transactions commercial operators are subject to rules regarding standard of proof and limitation periods which are different from the rules that are applicable to persons and entities who do not have commercial status.
Who is a Commercial Operator?
Those who perform commercial transactions as their usual professional activity. To facilitate the determination of whether a person is a commercial operator or not, we should peruse the following commercial transactions:
- The purchase of movable or immovable goods for resale;
- Activities in the fields of banking, capital markets, exchange, brokerage, insurance forwarding;
- Any contracts between commercial operators for the needs of their business;
- The industrial exploitation of mines, quarries and any other natural resources;
- The leasing of movable assets etc.
As a result, any persons or entities carrying out any of the above transactions in their normal course of business are deemed to be commercial operators.
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