Haiti · Legislation
Legislation and primary sources
Where to find the authoritative text of the law in Haiti, and how to confirm it is still in force.
Sources of law, ranked
- Constitution and ratified treaties
- Article 276-2 gives ratified treaties precedence over domestic law.
- Napoleonic codes
- Code civil 1825 and Code de commerce 1826, still largely in force.
- Lois and décrets
- Statutes where a legislature sits; decrees during the current transitional period.
- Doctrine and French jurisprudence
- Persuasive, given the shared codal ancestry.
The legislative process
Under the 1987 Constitution bills pass both chambers and are promulgated by the President, who may return a text once for reconsideration. With Parliament not sitting, measures have been issued as executive decrees since 2020 — a practice widely criticised as lacking constitutional foundation, and a key reason to check the current status of any recent instrument before relying on it.
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