How are crimes, délits and contraventions treated under criminal law in Burkina Faso?

They are different categories of offences under the Code pénal, with different procedures and possible sanctions. The applicable penalty depends on the specific offence and facts, so the category alone does not determine the final outcome.

Where can a victim report an offence and seek partie civile status in Burkina Faso?

A victim can report to the Police nationale, the Gendarmerie nationale or the procureur du Faso. The victim may seek constitution de partie civile under the Code de procédure pénale, subject to the applicable procedural requirements.

What can happen after a criminal complaint in Burkina Faso?

Police or gendarmerie officers may gather evidence and send their records to the prosecutor. Depending on the facts, the prosecutor may use a flagrant-offence or preliminary investigation, refer the matter to a juge d’instruction or pursue a procedure such as mediation pénale or another legally available simplified pathway.

What special rules apply to a child accused of an offence under criminal law in Burkina Faso?

Criminal responsibility begins at 13 and penal majority at 18, assessed on the date of the offence. Children aged 13 to 18 receive special protection and education rules, and a lawyer is mandatory in crime cases involving a child.

How can someone report an online scam or other digital offence in Burkina Faso?

The matter can be reported to the BCLCC, including through the Alerte-BCLCC channel. Preserve messages, URLs, account and payment information, devices and other digital traces so investigators can assess and lawfully secure the evidence.

Criminal law in Burkina Faso

Criminal law in Burkina Faso defines offences, regulates investigations and trials, and determines the rights of suspects, accused persons, victims and convicted persons. The main legal bases are the Code pénal of 2018 and the Code de procédure pénale promulgated in 2025. Police, gendarmerie, prosecutors and criminal courts handle cases under rules that vary according to the offence and the circumstances.

Tip

Treat a criminal-law matter in Burkina Faso as a time-sensitive evidence and procedure problem, especially when detention, serious charges, injury, a child or digital evidence is involved. Use the competent police, gendarmerie, prosecutor or court pathway and obtain legal support when the case is complex or your rights may be affected. Do not assume that a customary settlement, a database entry or a pending legal proposal has the same effect as current criminal law.

byAwa&Moussa

The criminal-law system of Burkina Faso covers crimes, délits and contraventions, as well as responsibility, attempted offences, complicity, lawful justifications, excuses and limitation periods. The Code pénal sets criminal offences and sanctions. The Code de procédure pénale regulates complaints, evidence, detention, prosecution, hearings, appeals and the participation of victims. The judicial organisation law promulgated in 2025 governs the structure of the courts. Ratified treaties take precedence according to the Code pénal, and legal entities may also incur criminal responsibility where the applicable rules provide for it. A person can report an offence to the Police nationale, the Gendarmerie nationale or the procureur du Faso. Police officers and gendarmes with judicial-investigation functions gather evidence and prepare official records before the prosecutor decides how the case proceeds. Depending on the facts, the case may involve a flagrant-offence investigation, a preliminary investigation or an investigation led by a juge d’instruction. Searches, seizures, expert examinations and digital evidence require the legal basis and safeguards applicable to the measure. A person held in garde à vue has rights that depend on the applicable procedure and must be handled within the statutory controls. The Ministère public conducts public prosecutions. Criminal matters may be heard by a Tribunal de grande instance, a chambre criminelle or another competent court, while specialised judicial poles handle areas such as economic and financial crime, organised crime and terrorism. The economic and organised-crime poles identified by the research are located at Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso, and the terrorism pole is at the Tribunal de grande instance Ouaga II. Military jurisdiction applies only where the Code de justice militaire covers the case. The 2025 procedure law introduced or strengthened mediation pénale, composition pénale, convention judiciaire d’intérêt public and other simplified procedures; it also allows certain flagrante-crime cases to proceed without prior instruction. Appeal and cassation depend on the decision and the applicable procedural rules. Possible sanctions include imprisonment, fines, community service known as travail d’intérêt général, confiscation and other statutory consequences. Under the 2024 law, travail d’intérêt général is an autonomous principal sanction performed without pay through approved public bodies, recognised non-profit associations or private entities providing a public service. Its practical use has been reported as marginal, and a rereading project was reported in June 2026. Amnesty or a pardon has different legal effects from an acquittal. The death penalty is absent from the current 2018 Code pénal; proposals for its introduction and for higher road penalties remained non-binding parliamentary projects as of 4 September 2026. Victims may report offences and may seek criminal-case participation through constitution de partie civile under the applicable procedure. The Direction de l’accès à la justice et de l’aide aux victimes can support access and assistance, while protection, compensation, shelter and legal aid depend on the case and available capacity. Civil damages mainly belong to civil law, but their connection with a criminal case can be handled through the criminal-procedure interface. The Fonds d’assistance judiciaire exists, although access and local availability should be confirmed with the competent office. Lawyers, transport, translation, medical examinations, expert work and copies can create costs, and Burkina Faso has no generally reliable tariff or fixed duration for all criminal cases. Children receive a separate regime. Criminal responsibility begins at age 13, and penal majority is reached at 18, assessed on the date of the offence. Children under 13 are subject only to educational or protective measures, while those aged 13 to 18 receive special protection and education rules. The juge des enfants handles relevant contraventions, délits and danger measures; child-specific procedures apply to crimes, with chambres des mineurs organised under the 2025 judicial-organisation law. A lawyer is mandatory in crime cases involving a child, and detention or placement follows child-specific rules. Capital punishment does not apply to children. Road offences may arise under special road regulations or the Code pénal when dangerous conduct causes injury or death. Decree No. 2003-418 lists contraventions including manual mobile-phone use, dangerous overtaking, red-light or STOP violations and certain speeding offences. Examples in the researched schedule include 50 km/h in urban areas and 90 km/h outside urban areas for vehicles of at least 10 tonnes; class-2 and class-3 fines are listed as 6,000 FCFA and 12,000 FCFA. Current amendments, tariffs and the coverage of the e-Contravention payment system should be checked before relying on them. The system was initially launched in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso. After an accident involving injury or death, preserving the scene, medical evidence, witness information and the police report can affect the criminal case and related insurance or civil claims. Digital offences are addressed in the Code pénal, the electronic-services and transactions law, the personal-data protection law and the information-system security law. The BCLCC, a specialised police-gendarmerie structure, handles computer-enabled and information-technology offences. The Alerte-BCLCC channel can receive reports concerning online scams, false information and terrorism apologie. Preserve URLs, messages, account details, payment records, devices and other digital traces without altering them, and report the matter through the competent channel. Faso Bû-Kaoore customary instances can offer voluntary local conciliation, but they cannot impose imprisonment or a fine and do not automatically replace formal prosecution or criminal sanctions. Access to justice may be fragmented in practice because distance, insecurity, staffing, cost, delays, limited legal-aid funding and shortages in courts, juvenile facilities and social services affect how quickly and effectively a case moves.