Mauritania · Overview
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.
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