International Business, Mining, Oil and Gas, Corporate & Litigation Law Firm

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Law Firm Overview

Emery Mukendi Wafwana & Associates is an international African law firm with a prominent business and mining practice. We are based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa, Lubumbashi & Matadi), in Johannesburg, in the Republic of South Africa (Cabemery & Partners (PTY) Ltd) and in Manhattan, New York, in the United States of America (Emery Mukendi Wafwana & Associates, P.C.). The firm is also present in most of French-speaking African countries, such as Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Congo-Brazzavile, etc., through exclusive partnerships its has established with renowned lawyers and law firms.

Year this Office was Established: 1995

Languages: French, English, German, Flemish, Italian, Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, and Tshiluba.

Chairman

Maître Emery Mukendi Wafwana Chairman Admiralty and Maritime, Agricultural Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Arbitration, Aviation Law

Partners

Maître Eugénie Elanga Monkango Co Managing Partner Admiralty and Maritime, Business and Industry, Environmental and Natural Resources, Family Law

Maître Jose Ilunga Kapanda Co Managing Partner Alternative Dispute Resolution, Appellate Practice, Arbitration, Business and Industry, Business Litigation

Lawyers

	Maître Patrick Bondonga Lesambo Associate Advertising, Agency and Distributorship, Agricultural Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Arbitration		Bernard Kandolo Wa Kandolo Associate Business and Industry, Commercial Law, Energy, Environmental and Natural Resources, Natural Resources
	Rigobert Nzundu Mawunga Associate Business and Industry, Business Law, Civil Litigation, Civil Rights, Commercial Law		Maître Emmanuel Otshudiema Bengu Associate Agricultural Law, Business and Industry, Environmental and Natural Resources, Forestry and Fisheries, General Practice

Areas of Law

Additional Areas of Law: Law of Obligations; Ohada Law.

Areas of Law Description

Our areas of practice include:

- Business Law

* General Commercial Law
We advise and assist our clients on matters pertaining to registration, modifications and removal of registrations from the trade register and movable credit; commercial leases; goodwill; commercial sales as well as on their roles as intermediaries, commissioners, brokers and commercial agents.

* Customs Law
We advise and assist commercial companies from the stage of their incorporation up to securing the registration number with the Congolese Government Customs Agency (DGDA). We advise and assist customs companies in discharging their duties to their clients. We advise and assist clients in the procedures for securing customs rights exemptions for materials, goods and equipment benefiting from customs preferential regime. We finally advise and assist our clients in the procedure for securing customs warehouse concessions.

* Investments Law
On international investments, we support, advise and assist our clients in the negotiation, drafting of contracts, demarches with government administrations involved in such investments. We also advise and assist our clients in the preparation and defense of files for the approval of projects for fiscal, customs and exchange advantages and privileges organized by the Investments Code or Charter at national agencies and administrations, thus, ensuring the promotion of investments.

* Intellectual Property Rights
We advise and assist our clients in the registration with the relevant authorities, of patents (invention, improvement, importation patents….), of designs, industrial models and trademarks, registration certificates, encouragement certificates and operation permit, authors rights and neighboring rights, software and domain names. We also ensure monitoring for maintaining the validity of such registered rights. We advise, assist and represent our clients in the negotiations and drafting of contracts related to intellectual property rights (assignment, transfer, license…). We advise, assist and represent our clients in counterfeit proceedings.

* Companies Law
We have developed a recognized expertise in advising and assisting in companies law. In general, we advise and assist in the incorporation, registration, merger, split, conversion and dissolution of any form or any type of companies. To that effect, we draft for our clients various companies deeds (articles of association and constitutional deeds, minutes of general meetings of associates and shareholders and of management meetings, managers or management decisions, shares or stocks assignment contracts).

* Sureties Law
We advise and assist our clients (banks, financing companies and various donors) in the negotiation, drafting and conclusion of hypothec, pledge, assignment contracts and general and special privileges contracts. We assist and represent our clients in the procedures for the registration of land, immovables, mining hypothecs and ships hypothecs with the relevant authorities.

* Telecommunications Law
We advise our clients and potential investments in the telecommunications sector by issuing legal opinions on relevant issues arising in this sector. We grant to our client our necessary legal assistance with a view to obtaining, depending on the cases, the agreement, the approval or the exploiting permit from the relevant administration for legislation on telecommunications. We advise our clients and potential investors in the telecommunications sector in order for them to comply with the conditions set in the contract conditions on the quality of services, the reliability of equipment and the costs of services. We also assist our clients and potential investors in the telecommunications sector to meet the conditions for.

* Labour and Social Security Law
We advise, legally assist and intervene on behalf of employers in order to satisfy pre-recruitment administrative formalities by subscribing, for them, employees recruitment and movement statements with the Labour Inspection and for employees affiliation with the Social Security National Institute (INSS). We assist and advise our clients on matters pertaining to the drafting and negotiations of collective agreements, employment contracts and apprenticeship contracts; the drafting of internal regulations for companies; on matters related to expatriates recruitment; to the negotiations for individual, collective and massive dismissal, and on issues related to the substitution and/or transfer of employer.

* Fiscal Law
We advise, assist and represent our tax-paying clients to central and/or provincial tax authorities for the declaration and payment of their taxes and levies as well as during tax and para-tax audits, in disputes related such taxes and levies both during the administrative as well as during the pretrial stages. We also advise and assist our clients for fiscal issues arising during the injection of new investments and operations such as the incorporation of joint ventures, the merger of companies, the assignment of goodwill, the assignment of immovables assets of the company (mining rights, intellectual and industrial property rights).

- Civil Law and Practice

* Family Law
We advise and assist our clients in procedures for the acquisition or loss of nationality, change, alteration or removal of names and for obtaining registration service deeds or suppletive judgments for belated registration of deeds, guardianship, and delegation of parental authority, divorce, filiation, adoption, succession and liberalities. Further, we provide our expertise to embassies by conducting for them compliance check and for verification of the genuineness of registration service deeds or other documents submitted for legalization.

* Land and Immovables Law
We advise, assist and represent our clients in the procedures for securing land concessions, in administrative and judicial disputes related to such concessions including the registration of charges and hypothecs including the entries of charges and land hypothecs in the registration. We also assist our clients in the assignment of land and immovables.

- Litigation and Dispute
We assist and/or represent our clients in the settlement of disputes arising from the implementation of laws, regulations or contracts which are applicable to them, not only amicably but also before courts. In our practice, we favour the amicable solution to disputes and conflicts opposing our clients through negotiation. We advise and represent our clients in judicial disputes in civil, commercial and criminal matters.

- Ohada Law
DRC’s entry into the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (“OHADA”) has led lawyers and attorneys at law in our firms to specialize in this new business law applicable across 17 states and covering, to date, general trade law, commercial companies and economic interest groups law, accounting law, securities law, collective proceedings for wiping off debts; arbitration and road transport law. Several other OHADA space lawyers have joined us in the practice of this new community law.

- Natural Resources Law

* Electrical Energy Law
We advise and legally assist our clients in administrative procedures related to the granting of of construction and rehabilitation permits for electrical dams, the approval of electrification services companies, the obtainment of road network permits for the transport of electrical energy as well as in the negotiations for the conclusions of electrical production concession and commercialization contracts.

* Forestry Law
In our capacity as adviser to forestry operators, we intervene in the interpretation and implementation of the forestry legislation and the implementation measures of the legislation. We advise on the granting of forests exploitation rights including forestry exploitation concessions as well as the implementation of obligation deriving from the forestry legislation in force.

* Hydrocarbons Law
In the area of gaseous and liquid hydrocarbons, we advise and assist our clients in the negotiations and drafting of oil contracts such as memoranda of understanding and production sharing contracts.

* Mining Law
Mining law is one of legal areas of practice most practiced by Emery Mukendi Wafwana & Associés law firm. As a result, we advise and assist clients in the reforms of the legal, fiscal, customs and change frameworks of the mining sector by drafting draft laws and draft regulations governing the mining sector. on this aspect, we have advised DRC government in the drafting of the Mining Code, the Mining Regulations and various decrees creating inter alia the Mining Registry, the Commission for the Validation of Mining and Quarries Rights.

- Legal Evaluation of Projects

In order to carry out some transactions (participation in existing companies, acquisition of new companies) or for financing projects in several economic or social projects, we carry out, on behalf of acquiring or participating companies, as well as for financing companies interested in financing projects and legal evaluation. These evaluations generally consist in establishing the compliance with the laws and regulations in force in the state where the project is located, companies deeds, permits, general licenses and authorizations enabling the implementation of project activities.

More Information on Emery Mukendi Wafwana & Associes

Kinshasa, Congo (Dem. Rep.) Business Lawyers
Civil Law Firm in Kinshasa, Congo (Dem. Rep.)
Kinshasa, Congo (Dem. Rep.) Natural Resources Lawyer
Kinshasa, Congo (Dem. Rep.) Legal Evaluation of Projects
Litigation Lawyers in Kinshasa, Congo (Dem. Rep.)
Kinshasa, Congo (Dem. Rep.) OHADA Law Firm
About Emery Mukendi Wafwana & Associes
Emery Mukendi Wafwana & Associes News and Publications

Office Locations

• DR Congo - Lubumbashi
• DR Congo - Matadi
• South Africa - Johannesburg
• USA - New York, New York