Criminal
Code pénal 2018 and a Cour de répression des infractions économiques
Loi n° 2018-16 replaced the colonial-era penal code. Benin abolished the death penalty in 2012 by acceding to the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR. A specialised court, CRIET, handles economic crime and terrorism and has been criticised for its use against political figures.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction â Ordinary offences go to the Tribunal de premiĂšre instance; CRIET has exclusive jurisdiction over economic crime and terrorism.
- Deadline â Garde Ă vue: 48 hours, extendable once by the procureur
- Deadline â Prescription: 10 years for crimes, 3 years for dĂ©lits
Governing law
- Loi n° 2018-16 du 28 décembre 2018 portant Code pénal
- Loi n° 2012-15 portant Code de procédure pénale
- Loi n° 2018-13 créant la Cour de répression des infractions économiques et du terrorismeCRIET
In practice
CRIET is the contested institution in Benin's criminal justice system. Created in 2018 with jurisdiction over economic offences and terrorism, and initially without an appellate chamber, it has tried opposition figures and drawn findings against Benin from the ECOWAS Court of Justice. An appeal chamber was added in 2020 in response.