The legal system of Mauritania
One of the few states where Sharia is the declared source of all law rather than one source among several: the constitution designates Islam as the sole source of legislation. French-derived procedural and commercial structures operate within that frame, and the 2001 Code du statut personnel codifies Maliki family law.
Legal tradition
Mauritania belongs to the mixed (islamic law and french civil law) tradition. One of the few states where Sharia is the declared source of all law rather than one source among several: the constitution designates Islam as the sole source of legislation. French-derived procedural and commercial structures operate within that frame, and the 2001 Code du statut personnel codifies Maliki family law.
How power is divided
Presidential system with a President elected for five years, a unicameral National Assembly since the 2017 abolition of the Senate, and a judiciary that includes Sharia jurisdiction in personal status and certain criminal matters.
Where law comes from
- Sharia
- Declared the sole source of law by the constitution.
- Constitution
- Supreme written norm within the Islamic frame.
- Laws and ordinances
- National Assembly statutes and presidential ordinances.
- Codes
- Personal status (2001), penal, commercial, labour and mining codes.
- Customary practice
- Operates alongside codified rules, particularly in land matters.
The legal profession
Avocats admitted through the Ordre national des avocats; training combines French-style procedure with Islamic legal studies.
Law by topic in Mauritania
- Criminal LawSharia-based criminal law with hadd penalties and apostasy carrying the death penaltyOrdonnance n° 83-162 introduced a criminal code applying sharia, including hadd penalties. Apostasy carries a mandatory death sentence following a 2018 amendment removing the possibility of repentance-based commutation. No executions have taken place since 1987.
- Business & CorporateNational commercial code outside OHADA, with Islamic finance provisionsMauritania is not an OHADA member, so its commercial law is genuinely national: the Code de commerce of 2000 governs companies and trade, supplemented by banking legislation that accommodates Islamic finance. There is no CCJA appeal.
- Employment & LabourCode du travail 2004 with a 40-hour week and slavery-related labour concernsLoi n° 2004-017 sets a 40-hour week and regulates contracts and dismissal. The distinctive problem is not the Code but the persistence of descent-based slavery and forced labour, addressed by separate criminal legislation and specialised courts.
- Family LawCode du statut personnel 2001 applying Maliki jurisprudenceOrdonnance n° 2001-052 codifies personal status on Maliki lines: polygamy is permitted subject to conditions, guardianship rules apply to a bride's consent, and inheritance follows Quranic shares. Marriage age is 18 with judicial exceptions.
- Property & LandLand reform of 1983 abolishing traditional tenure in favour of state grantsOrdonnance n° 83-127 declared land the property of the nation and abolished the traditional tenure system, providing for individual concessions. Implementation in the Senegal River valley displaced Afro-Mauritanian farming communities and remains contested.
- Immigration & NationalityNo ECOWAS membership, with a national visa regime and EU migration cooperationMauritania left ECOWAS in 2000, so there is no community free movement right; nationals of most states require visas. Mauritania is a Maghreb Arab Union member and cooperates with the EU on Atlantic route migration control.
- Tax LawCode général des impôts 2019 with 16% VAT and iron ore and fisheries revenueVAT is 16% and corporate tax is 25%. Mauritania is outside WAEMU and uses the ouguiya, so it sets rates independently. Iron ore through SNIM, fisheries licensing and the offshore Grand Tortue gas project dominate revenue.
- Civil ProcedureCode de procédure civile with sharia-trained judges and no CCJA routeProcedure follows a French-derived code adapted to Islamic law, with appeal to the Cour d'appel and pourvoi to the Cour suprême. Because Mauritania is outside OHADA there is no CCJA appeal and no OHADA enforcement Act.
- Constitutional Law1991 Constitution declaring an Islamic republic with sharia as the source of lawThe Constitution of 20 July 1991, revised in 2006, 2012 and 2017, establishes an Islamic republic in which Islam is the religion of the state and people and sharia is the source of law. The 2017 revision abolished the Senate, replacing it with regional councils.
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