Business Law

Learning outcomes

• Analyse and interpret the business law applicable in Senegal, in its OHADA, WAEMU (UEMOA), WAMU (UMOA), CIMA, OAPI and national sources, as well as the case law of the CCJA (OHADA Common Court of Justice and Arbitration).
• Design the legal structures of a company's life: creation, governance, financing, grouping, restructuring and transfer.
• Negotiate and draft a company's legal instruments: contracts, articles of association, security instruments, minutes, agreements.
• Conduct business litigation and debt recovery, choosing between court proceedings, arbitration and mediation.
• Set up compliance systems for regulated activities: banking, insurance, anti-money laundering, taxation, public procurement.
• Support companies in difficulty, from prevention to collective insolvency proceedings.
• Produce an applied research dissertation on a business law issue in the region.

The programme

4 semesters. The first three are taught semesters; the fourth is devoted to the professional assignment and the dissertation.

Target careers

• In-house lawyer, general or specialising in business law
• Lawyer at a bank, financial institution, microfinance institution or insurance company
• Lawyer at a business law firm, legal and tax advisory firm or accounting firm
• Legal and tax adviser
• Compliance officer, particularly in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing
• Contracts lawyer (contract relationship management)
• Mergers, acquisitions and restructuring lawyer
• Legal adviser to entrepreneurs and start-ups
• Litigation and debt recovery lawyer
• Public procurement and public-private partnership lawyer
• Lawyer at a regulatory authority or economic administration
• Industrial property and electronic transactions lawyer

After several years' experience: head of legal or legal director, chief compliance officer, head of litigation and debt recovery, adviser on preventing business difficulties. Access to the regulated legal professions (lawyer, notary, court-appointed insolvency administrator) also requires the examinations, competitive entrance exams and training specific to each, set by their regulations, which the Master's does not replace.

Sectors

• Companies in all sectors: SMEs, subsidiaries of groups, state-owned enterprises
• Banks, financial institutions, microfinance institutions, insurance companies and regional financial market participants
• Law firms, legal and tax advisory firms, accounting and audit firms; notarial offices
• Public administrations, regulatory authorities, contracting authorities and regional institutions
• Professional organisations, chambers of commerce and business creation support structures
• Associations, foundations, non-governmental organisations and cooperatives

Admission

Who is it for?

• Working professionals holding a Bachelor's degree who wish to move into specialist or management roles: this is the main target group, for whom the online option and the in-job assignment were designed.
• Bachelor's graduates in a relevant field continuing their studies.
• Holders of a relevant maîtrise (four-year degree), eligible for entry into Year 2.

Prerequisites

A Bachelor's degree in a field relevant to the Master's: a law degree, preferably in private law or business law, or a qualification accepted as exempt or equivalent. Admission is not automatic: it is based on a test and/or a review of the application file. Holders of a Bachelor's degree in another field (management, human resources management, finance) can only be admitted if the school considers their field relevant, and after a refresher course in introduction to law, law of obligations and company law. Applicants are also expected to have a command of written and spoken legal French, to be able to read professional documents in English, and to have regular access to a computer and, for the online mode, an internet connection good enough to follow a virtual class.

Admission routes

Route	Entry	Requirements
Holder of a relevant Bachelor's degree	Year 1	Bachelor's degree in a relevant field, or a qualification accepted as exempt or equivalent; “Admission is not automatic. It is based on a test and/or a review of the application file.”
Holder of a maîtrise (four-year degree)	Year 2	Maîtrise in a field relevant to the Master's; review of the application file.
Continuing education	Year 1 or 2	Same degree requirements; professional application file and interview; online study option available.

After a Bachelor's degree from ERUDIA or elsewhere

Your Bachelor's degree	Access to the Master's
Law degree - private law or business law (from another institution)	Direct
Professional Bachelor's degree in Human Resources Management	On application, with a refresher course

Short certificates drawn from this programme

To study part of the programme without taking the full degree:

• OHADA Commercial and Company Law - Specialist Certificate, 20 weeks, 300,000 FCFA
• Business Litigation and Debt Recovery - Specialist Certificate, 20 weeks, 300,000 FCFA
• Drafting Personal and Movable Property Security Interests - Professional Certificate, 4 weeks, 200,000 FCFA
• Bidding for Public Contracts and Public-Private Partnerships - Professional Certificate, 4 weeks, 200,000 FCFA
• Anti-Money Laundering Compliance and Business Criminal Law - Professional Certificate, 4 weeks, 200,000 FCFA

Tuition fees

Master's tuition fees, per year

Year of study	Annual tuition
Master's, Year 1	799,900 FCFA
Master's, Year 2	899,900 FCFA

Amount payable to confirm enrolment: 200,000 FCFA.

Application fee: 10,000 FCFA.