Family
The 1984 Family Code, permitting elected polygamy
Law 073-84 codified family law, allowing spouses to elect monogamy or polygamy at marriage and regulating dowry, filiation and succession. It remains one of the more comprehensive family codes in central Africa.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Tribunaux de grande instance hear family matters; registrars celebrate marriage.
- Deadline — Birth registration: one month
- Deadline — Minimum age of marriage: 18 for men, 18 for women following reform
Governing law
- Loi n° 073-84 portant Code de la famille
- Loi n° 19-2022 relative à la lutte contre les violences faites aux femmes
In practice
The 1984 Code is notable for regulating rather than abolishing dowry and polygamy, fixing the terms on which each operates instead of leaving them to custom — the characteristic central African compromise between codification and pluralism.