Laurence
Vanderstraete

Specialising in company law, mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures and OHADA business law, Laurence Vanderstraete focuses her practice on African matters and primarily supports business flows between the United Arab Emirates, Europe, and Africa.
She has developed expertise in the extractive sector in Africa, assisting governments and international groups with mining and oil projects.
In addition, she frequently provides assistance to companies active in the telecommunications and technologies sector in Africa.
Laurence works in other key sectors driving the development of the African continent, particularly in the areas of infrastructure, energy, and project financing (including Islamic finance structuring), as well as arbitration proceedings involving African parties.
She is regularly invited to participate in conferences related to legal issues in Africa.

Capabilities

Practices

Sectors

Focus

Languages

• French
• English
• Dutch
• Italian

Qualifications

• 2007 LL.M in European and Comparative Law, University of Ghent
• 2006 Licence en Droit privé, Université Libre de Bruxelles

Bars

• Paris
• Brussels

Professional associations

• World Association of Mining Lawyers (WAOML)
• Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture Belgium-Luxembourg-Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (CBL-ACP)

Publications

• Laurence Vanderstraete, Racha Wylde, « La finance islamique en zones UEMOA et CEMAC », Perspectives, octobre, novembre, décembre 2018
• Jean-Baptiste Santelli, Laurence Vanderstraete, « Sovereign Sukuk in Djibouti: An achievable challenge », Islamic Finance News, mars 2017
• Laurence Vanderstraete, « Le décret n°16/010 du 19 avril 2016 parachève la réforme du secteur pétrolier et gazier en RDC », OAG Africa, août 2016
• Laurence Vanderstraete, « La loi n°15/012 du 1er août 2015 portant régime général des hydrocarbures, ou la (première) grande étape de la réforme du secteur pétrolier et gazier en République Démocratique du Congo », OAG Africa, mai 2016
• Laurence Vanderstraete, Ali Boroumand, « Droit Ohada : le renforcement du droit de vote d’un minoritaire », Capital Finance, septembre 2015