Yacouba-Sylla KOÏTA

Institution: University of Geneva and University of Toulon

Period of stay: 9 January - 28 June 2024

Contact: https://www.clubdelarbitrage.com/redacteur-en-chef  /  Yacouba-Sylla.Koita@etu.unige.ch

Profile:

Yacouba-Sylla KOÏTA is a PhD candidate in law, jointly supervised at the University of Geneva (Professor Moïse Makane MBENGUE) and the University of Toulon (Professor Guillaume PAYAN). In early 2023, he was a LERU Law PhD exchange student at the University of Cambridge. His thesis focuses on the study of the intricate relationships between arbitration and legal order and is titled "Arbitrage et ordre juridique. L’éclipse des métanormes" ("Arbitration and Legal Order. The Eclipse of Metanorms").

He was a teaching assistant at the University of Toulon for three years, covering subjects such as civil procedure, family law, torts law, and methodology. In the role of a coach for mock trial competitions, he has successfully prepared and guided student teams from the Félix Houphouët-Boigny University.

Yacouba-Sylla holds a master’s degree in Litigation (valedictorian) from the University of Toulon and a master’s degree in International and Humanitarian Law (valedictorian) from the Institut Universitaire d’Abidjan.

He has received awards in various competitions, including academic contests such as 'Ma thèse en 180 secondes', the Prize for the Best Article in OHADA law, and the African Human Rights Moot Court Competition.

Research Area:

Arbitration, Legal Theory, International Commercial Law, Investment Law, Sports Law

Research Title:

Arbitrage et ordre juridique. L'éclipse des métanormes

Research Outline:

The PhD project conducted at the Lauterpacht Centre, titled "Arbitrage et ordre juridique. L’éclipse des métanormes" ("Arbitration and Legal Order. The Eclipse of Metanorms"), is at the intersection of arbitration law and jurisprudence. It represents a critical analysis of the use of the concept of legal order within the realm of arbitration. The inquiry relates to both positive law and legal thinking and spans the national, transnational, and international levels. It is conducted from the standpoint of various legal regimes, such as international trade law, investment law, sports law.

The research begins with the premise that the concept of legal order has undergone a gradual transformation, evolving towards a limitation and impoverishment of its defining elements. This transformation has resulted in the complete oversight of a specific category of norms known as 'metanorms', which are fundamental in shaping any legal order as well as any legal organ within the legal order. Although this phenomenon is observable in various areas, the current research centers on arbitration as an illustrative field.

The analysis reveals that arbitral legal thinking and practice adopt a reductive approach to the legal order, considering it merely as a set of norms of conduct. This approach leads to questionable conclusions. Consequently, there arises a necessity for a comprehensive and coherent approach to the concept of legal order. The thesis, therefore, aims to restore metanorms and reexamines them in light of the challenges they face in the development of arbitration and legal pluralism. Finally, it demonstrates how understanding metanorms can provide insights to address both classic and contemporary issues in arbitration more effectively.

Publications:

'Africa and Africans in the system of international
law : Facts and figures', in Apollin K. Zouapet, Africa and International Law, Sixty years after independence, Africa and international law: Views from a generation, Pretoria, PULP, 2023, p. 447-496 (co-authored with Apollin K. Zouapet, Marie Fall and Germain Dabire)

'La fonction régulatrice de l'arbitre et la liberté des parties', in P. Pichonnaz, I. Chabloz et B. Perrin (éds.), Le contrôle
et la liberté en droit, Éditions Weblaw, 2022, p. 361-390

'Arbitrage et théorie du droit : une question de perspectives' (2021) 4, Journal du droit international, 1587-90

'La violence économique dans l'espace Ohada' (2020) 3, Revue internationale de droit économique, 297-318

'La médiation ou le blivet du droit Ohada' (2020) 910, Penant, 28-48

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