The legal system of Chad
A French-tradition civil-law system in which customary and Islamic rules govern much personal status in practice, since no comprehensive family code was enacted. A new constitution was approved by referendum in December 2023, ending the post-2021 transition. OHADA governs commercial law and oil is the dominant sector.
Legal tradition
Chad belongs to the mixed (french civil law, customary and islamic law) tradition. A French-tradition civil-law system in which customary and Islamic rules govern much personal status in practice, since no comprehensive family code was enacted. A new constitution was approved by referendum in December 2023, ending the post-2021 transition. OHADA governs commercial law and oil is the dominant sector.
How power is divided
Presidential system with a Prime Minister, a bicameral Parliament of National Assembly and Senate under the 2023 text, and a judiciary headed by the Supreme Court.
Where law comes from
- Constitution of 2023
- Adopted by referendum, ending the transition.
- OHADA Uniform Acts
- Directly applicable commercial law.
- CEMAC community law
- Regional economic and monetary rules.
- Laws and ordinances
- Parliamentary statutes and delegated instruments.
- Customary and Islamic rules
- Govern most marriage, divorce and inheritance questions in practice.
The legal profession
Avocats admitted through the Ordre des avocats du Tchad; the profession is concentrated in N'Djamena.
Law by topic in Chad
- Tax LawA General Tax Code amended annually within CEMAC VAT rulesThe Code Général des Impôts is amended by annual finance law. Corporate income tax is 35%, among the higher rates in the region, and VAT is 18% under the CEMAC directive.
- Civil ProcedureFrench-derived procedure with OHADA enforcementCivil procedure follows the received French model with OHADA's recovery and enforcement Act applying to execution. The Cour suprême is the final national instance and the CCJA takes Uniform Act questions.
- Employment & LabourThe 1996 Labour Code with sectoral collective agreementsLaw 038/PR/96 governs contracts, hours and termination. The statutory week is 39 hours and dismissal requires notice, with economic redundancy subject to consultation and inspectorate notification.
- Property & Land1967 land laws vesting untitled land in the stateThe 1967 land statutes established registration and treated unregistered land as state domain. Customary tenure predominates outside the towns and pastoralist access routes are a persistent source of conflict with cultivators.
- Criminal LawThe 2017 Penal Code, which abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimesThe Penal Code of 2017 replaced the 1967 text, abolishing capital punishment for ordinary offences while initially retaining it for terrorism, which was removed in 2020. It also criminalised child marriage and female genital mutilation.
- Constitutional LawThe 2023 constitution, following a transitional period after 2021After the death of President Déby in 2021 a Transitional Military Council suspended the 2018 constitution and governed under a transitional charter. A new constitution establishing a decentralised unitary state was approved by referendum in December 2023.
- Business & CorporateOHADA Uniform Acts as directly applicable commercial law, with the CCJA as final appealCommercial law is not primarily national. The OHADA Uniform Acts apply directly and take precedence over conflicting domestic provisions, and the Cour commune de justice et d'arbitrage (CCJA) in Abidjan — not the national supreme court — is the final instance on their interpretation. Petroleum operations are governed by the 2007 hydrocarbons law and separately negotiated conventions.
- Immigration & NationalityCEMAC free movement over a limited national frameworkEntry is governed by mid-century ordinances and their decrees, with CEMAC nationals entitled to free movement. Chad hosts very large refugee populations from Sudan and CAR under the 2020 asylum law.
- Family LawNo unified family code; custom and religion govern with statutory limitsChad has never enacted a comprehensive family code — a 2001 draft was withdrawn after opposition. Marriage, divorce and succession are governed largely by customary and Islamic law, subject to statutory minimum-age and anti-FGM provisions in the 2017 Penal Code.
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