Rights
A 1992 constitution, amended in 2010 to remove presidential term limits
The 1992 constitution establishes a presidential republic with a Constitutional Council. The 2010 amendment removed the two-term limit, and the Council reviews legislation on referral rather than on individual petition.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Unitary republic. The Conseil Constitutionnel rules on the constitutionality of statutes and on electoral disputes.
Governing law
- Constitution of the Republic of Djibouti 1992revised 2010
- Loi organique 1/AN/92 on the Constitutional Council
In practice
The structure is closely modelled on the French Fifth Republic: a strong executive president, a prime minister, a single-chamber National Assembly and a Constitutional Council that reviews texts before promulgation on referral by the President, the President of the Assembly or a group of deputies. That referral model matters because it means constitutional review is largely abstract and political rather than something an individual litigant triggers. The 2010 revision removed the limit of two presidential terms while introducing an age ceiling, which is the central fact about Djiboutian constitutional practice since. Article 1 declares Islam the state religion while the constitution simultaneously guarantees freedom of religion, and the practical reconciliation is that Islamic law governs personal status while the rest of the legal order is secular and French-derived.