Agency Contract in Algeria
Pursuant to art. 34 of the Algerian Commercial Code, the agency contract is defined as an agreement whereby a person, without being bound, undertakes to promote and conclude purchases and / or sales habitually, and more generally all other transactions commercial in the name and on behalf of a principal merchant. In particular, from the definition provided by the Code de Commerce it emerges that: the commercial agency contract assumes that the agent is not bound to the principal by a service provision contract ("louage de services"); the agent is obliged to conclude, on an ongoing basis, purchases or sales and all other related activities, in the name and on behalf of the principal himself. possibly the agent may carry out commercial transactions on his behalf (as a distribution contract);the role of commercial agent can be performed by a natural or legal person, as long as they are registered in the trade registers. In a nutshell, it can be said that the approach given by the law does not differ from the disciplines of European countries or, more generally, from the European Union and international practice. Therefore, in drawing up a commercial agency contract, particular precautions must be taken and, specifically, the models suggested by the International Chamber of Commerce of Paris, or by other institutions, or those adopted by international practice, can be used. Unlike the provisions of the laws in force in the EU countries (which have implemented Directive 86/653 / EEC on commercial agents), the Algerian law does not provide for particular obligations or limitations, or order clauses in favor of the agent. However, it should be noted that in the event of dissolution of the contractual relationship, the notice period must be respected, which must be consistent with the duration of the contract. It follows that, when a foreign company, in particular a European company, intends to appoint an agent in Algeria, it should carefully consider whether to use the Algerian law as applicable law. This is due to the fact that the Algerian law does not impose particular safeguard clauses to protect the agent and, specifically, the obligation to pay an indemnity at the end of the relationship or the obligation to respect the non-competition clause, are not contemplated. The contract can therefore be very streamlined and the foreign principal must foresee and respect the notice terms which must be consistent and proportional to the duration of the relationship. In consideration of the fact that Algeria has ratified the 1958 New York Convention on International Arbitration, it will be appropriate to include in the contract the clause that provides for the exclusive competence of an arbitration judge to know and decide any dispute arising between the principal and the agent. It is suggested to resort to an administered arbitration, that is to make the procedure subject to an arbitration regulation adopted by an independent body such as a Chamber of Commerce or Algerian or a third country. In summary, the agency contract can be drawn up in French or another language; Algerian law may be chosen as the applicable law. It is useful to provide for an arbitration clause, which recalls an arbitration regulation adopted by an Algerian or foreign Chamber of Commerce.
SERVICES OFFERED IN ALGERIA
» ESTABLISHMENT OF COMPANIES, BRANCHES AND REPRESENTATIVE OFFICES
» ACQUISITION OF INDUSTRIAL GROUPS AND DUE DILIGENCE
» DRAFTING OF CONTRACTS IN COMPLIANCE WITH LOCAL LAWS
» INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION AT ALL LEVELS
» OBTAINING LICENSES, AUTHORIZATIONS, PERMITS FROM LOCAL AUTHORITIES
» DUE DILIGENCE ON ALGERIAN COMPANIES AND, IN GENERAL, ON NATURAL AND LEGAL PERSONS
» EXTRA-JUDICIAL ASSISTANCE IN TRADING WITH HIGH PROFILE ARABIAN AND ITALIAN LANGUAGE LEGALS
» CREDIT RECOVERY
» JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE ALGERIAN COURTS
» WIDE RANGE OF SERVICES IN THE FIELD OF INTERNATIONAL PRIVAT LAW
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