Equatorial Guinea · Overview
The legal system of Equatorial Guinea
Africa's only Spanish-speaking state and a genuine legal hybrid: Spanish-derived civil and penal codes operate underneath the French-language OHADA Uniform Acts, which govern commercial law as a CEMAC member. Customary law is recognised for personal status. Hydrocarbons dominate the economy and commercial practice.
Legal tradition
Equatorial Guinea belongs to the civil law (spanish tradition) tradition. Africa's only Spanish-speaking state and a genuine legal hybrid: Spanish-derived civil and penal codes operate underneath the French-language OHADA Uniform Acts, which govern commercial law as a CEMAC member. Customary law is recognised for personal status. Hydrocarbons dominate the economy and commercial practice.
How power is divided
Presidential system with a Vice-President and Prime Minister, a bicameral Parliament of Chamber of Deputies and Senate, and a judiciary headed by the Supreme Court of Justice.
Where law comes from
- Fundamental Law
- Supreme domestic norm.
- OHADA Uniform Acts
- Directly applicable commercial law, in French, over Spanish-tradition codes.
- CEMAC community law
- Regional economic and monetary rules.
- Spanish-derived codes
- Civil and penal codes on the Spanish model.
- Customary law
- Recognised in personal status and land matters.
The legal profession
Abogados admitted through the Ilustre Colegio de Abogados; practice requires competence in both Spanish codes and French-language OHADA texts.
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