Family
The 2002 Family Code, applying Islamic personal status through state courts
The Code de la Famille 2002 codifies marriage, divorce, custody and succession on Islamic principles, administered by the personal status chambers of the ordinary courts rather than by a separate qadi hierarchy.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National. Personal status matters are heard by the Tribunal du Statut Personnel and on appeal within the ordinary court structure.
Governing law
- Loi 152/AN/02 portant Code de la Famille
- Loi 55/AN/09 on the protection of children
- Code pénal provisions criminalising female genital mutilation
In practice
The 2002 code brought personal status into a single statutory text and into the state court system, which was the main structural reform: previously qadi practice operated with less codified guidance. Substantively it remains recognisably Islamic — polygamy is permitted subject to conditions, and succession follows fixed shares — while imposing procedural requirements such as registration of marriage and judicial supervision of divorce that constrain unilateral repudiation. FGM is criminalised and has been since 1995, and the code and subsequent child-protection legislation reinforce that, though prevalence remains very high, which is a case where the gap between the statute and practice is the material fact rather than the statute itself. Marriage of a Muslim woman to a non-Muslim man is not recognised.