The legal system of Burundi
A Belgian-tradition civil-law system whose constitutional design is built around the ethnic quotas agreed in the 2000 Arusha Accords: fixed Hutu and Tutsi proportions in the legislature, government and army are written into the constitution. Burundi is the only state to have withdrawn from the Rome Statute of the ICC, effective 2017.
Legal tradition
Burundi belongs to the civil law (belgian tradition) tradition. A Belgian-tradition civil-law system whose constitutional design is built around the ethnic quotas agreed in the 2000 Arusha Accords: fixed Hutu and Tutsi proportions in the legislature, government and army are written into the constitution. Burundi is the only state to have withdrawn from the Rome Statute of the ICC, effective 2017.
How power is divided
Presidential system with a Prime Minister, a bicameral Parliament of National Assembly and Senate with ethnic and gender quotas, and a judiciary headed by the Supreme Court with a separate Constitutional Court.
Where law comes from
- Constitution
- 2018 text; entrenches Arusha ethnic balance provisions.
- International treaties
- Ratified instruments form part of the domestic order.
- Laws and decree-laws
- Parliamentary statutes and government instruments.
- Codes
- Civil, penal (2017), persons and family, labour and land codes.
- Customary law
- Applied by bashingantahe councils and local courts in practice.
The legal profession
Avocats admitted through the Ordre des avocats du Burundi after a law degree and traineeship; the profession is concentrated in Bujumbura.
Law by topic in Burundi
- Family LawThe 1993 Persons and Family Code, with monogamy onlyThe Code des Personnes et de la Famille of 1993 recognises only monogamous civil marriage and governs filiation and matrimonial regimes. Succession is largely uncodified and governed by custom, which has historically disadvantaged daughters — a longstanding reform proposal that has not been enacted.
- Immigration & NationalityA national entry regime with EAC membership obligationsEntry and residence are governed by the 2017 immigration law. Burundi is an EAC member and the Common Market Protocol applies in principle, though implementation of free movement has lagged behind Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
- Tax LawCorporate tax at 30% with VAT since 2009Burundi introduced VAT at 18% in 2009, replacing a transaction tax. Corporate income tax is 30%, and the Office Burundais des Recettes, created in 2009, unified collection that had previously been split across ministries.
- Civil ProcedureBelgian-derived procedure with residence courts at community levelCivil procedure follows the received Belgian model under the 2019 code. Tribunaux de résidence hear small claims and family matters at community level and apply custom where relevant, with appeal to the tribunaux de grande instance.
- Constitutional LawThe 2018 constitution, revising the Arusha power-sharing settlementThe 2005 constitution implemented the Arusha Agreement's ethnic quotas — 60% Hutu and 40% Tutsi in the National Assembly and government, with 50/50 in the army. The 2018 constitution retained the quotas but extended the presidential term to seven years, reduced the majority needed to pass legislation and restored a strong prime ministerial office.
- Business & CorporateA 2015 Companies Code in a Belgian-derived civil-law system, outside OHADABurundi is the only Great Lakes state in this batch that is neither OHADA nor common law. Company law is governed by the 2015 Code of Private and Public Participation Companies, and commercial courts sit in Bujumbura. Accession to OHADA has been discussed but not effected.
- Property & LandThe 2011 Land Code over acute land scarcity and returnee claimsThe Land Code of 2011 provides for registration and recognises customary occupation as convertible to title. The dominant legal problem is the restitution of land to refugees returning after decades of displacement, handled by a specialised commission whose decisions have been contentious.
- Employment & LabourThe 2020 Labour Code, replacing the 1993 textLaw 1/11 of 2020 replaced the 1993 Labour Code, revising contracts, working time and dismissal. The statutory week is 40 hours and dismissal requires notice with reasons, subject to conciliation before the labour inspectorate.
- Criminal LawThe 2017 Penal Code, with abolished capital punishmentThe Penal Code of 2017 replaced the 2009 code, which had abolished the death penalty. The 2009 code also criminalised same-sex relations for the first time, a provision retained in 2017, and the Criminal Procedure Code was revised in 2018.
Found something out of date on Burundi?
Corrections are reviewed against the primary source before anything changes.