Civil law in Central African Republic

The Central African Republic follows a French civil-law tradition. The French Civil Code remains a fallback under the continuity rule of 6 October 1958, although the exact historical edition applicable to a particular issue requires verification. National rules also include the Family Code of Law 97.013 of 11 November 1997, the Code of Civil Procedure of Law 91.016 of 27 December 1991 and land legislation. The Constitution of the VIIe République, promulgated on 30 August 2023, protects private property in Article 34. No single consolidated current Civil Code was identified in the available legal framework. Civil-status records provide the basis for many private-law rights. A birth should normally be declared within one month to the competent civil-status authority by the father, mother, an ascendant, a close relative or a witness to the birth. The resulting acte de naissance supports education, inheritance and nationality procedures. If a record is missing or late, the Tribunal de grande instance can issue a jugement supplétif. A death record supports succession and estate administration. The research identifies an official certificate as free in principle, while municipal or late fees can vary; it also records indicative fees of 2,000 CFA francs for a supplemental birth judgment, 1,500 CFA francs for a supplemental death judgment, 2,000 CFA francs for a name correction and 3,000 CFA francs for a nationality certificate. A nationality certificate is requested from the President of the Tribunal de grande instance with a legalised birth record and a favourable opinion from the Procureur. Contracts between private parties that are not commercial generally follow national civil-law rules. A contract creates duties of performance, proof and remedy, but validity can be affected by defects of consent, form, proof or an unlawful cause; Article 1131 of the Civil Code is cited for the risk connected with an illicit cause. Commercial activity and business entities fall within OHADA law, which applies directly and bindingly in its field under Article 10. The Central African Republic ratified OHADA on 13 January 1995 and entered the organisation on 18 September 1995. The Registre du commerce et du crédit mobilier, commercial courts where available, OHADA mediation and arbitration, and the Cour commune de justice et d'arbitrage can therefore become relevant to business disputes. A general contract fee or standard processing time has not been established; the research records 6,000 CFA francs for an ordinary Tribunal de grande instance claim and for a commercial order for payment. Land rights combine formal registration, state land administration and continuing customary use. Relevant terms include domaine national, domaine public or privé de l'Etat, propriété foncière, titre foncier, immatriculation, mise en valeur, concession and droits coutumiers. Customary use may provide enjoyment or access without automatically creating a registered title. A transfer by purchase, inheritance or lease depends on the land's status and available proof. Public-utility expropriation requires fair and prior compensation under the available framework. The cited assessment reports that less than 0.1 percent of land was registered, that state public-domain leases generally last no more than 20 years and that any lease may last no more than 50 years. Development targets for concessions are reported as two years in urban areas and five years in rural areas. Registration fees and processing times are not reliably published, and a land-code reform reported as pending in 2022 requires current verification. The research records 10,000 CFA francs for a second copy of a land title. The Family Code regulates marriage, marital effects, divorce, matrimonial regimes, filiation, parental authority, adoption, guardianship and maintenance. Civil marriage and civil-status registration provide the formal basis for family status, while customary family authorities continue to influence practical arrangements without having the same formal legal force. The Tribunal de grande instance handles contested divorce, custody, maintenance, guardianship and adoption matters. The recorded fees include 10,000 CFA francs for divorce, 10,000 CFA francs for adoption by a Central African applicant, 50,000 CFA francs for adoption by a foreign applicant, and 2,000 CFA francs for recognition of a child, guardianship, curatorship, maintenance or custody. The Code prohibits mistreatment of widows and confiscation of their property under provisions beginning with Article 1052. Reported inconsistencies affecting gender equality and a revision process require checking against the current text before relying on them. An inheritance normally begins with registration or proof of death, followed by proof of kinship and an homologation of hérédité. The estate can then be administered and divided. Heirs, claimants and creditors of the estate may need to prove death and filiation. The Family Code governs inheritance and testamentary rights, but customary practices can affect practical distribution, especially where births, deaths, land rights or marital status were not formally recorded. The research records 2,000 CFA francs for homologation of hérédité; death-registration and certificate fees can vary. Civil liability allows an injured person or organisation to seek réparation for wrongful damage. A claimant generally needs to establish fault, damage and a causal link, or prove the relevant contractual breach. The cited Article 1384 rule also concerns parental civil liability for damage caused by a minor child. The Tribunal de grande instance hears the claim at first instance, while the Cour d'appel and the civil and commercial chamber of the Cour de cassation review later decisions within their respective powers. Civil proceedings begin through a filing at the greffe and, where required, an assignation served by a huissier de justice or agent d'exécution. A référé can provide a provisional or urgent measure. The current Ministry listing cited in the research contains 24 Tribunaux de grande instance and three Cours d'appel. Territorial jurisdiction can depend on the defendant's domicile, the location of immovable property, the opening of a succession or the place where a contract was delivered or performed. The research records 6,000 CFA francs for an ordinary or référé matter before the Tribunal de grande instance, 10,000 CFA francs for divorce, 20,000 CFA francs for an ordinary or référé appeal, and 10,000 CFA francs as a Court of Cassation provision, with a possible 20,000 CFA franc fine. Contentious appeals are reported at two months and non-contentious appeals at one month; the cited Article 503 rule generally gives an appeal suspensive effect. Actual duration depends on the court and case, and no standard total duration is published. Enforcement follows a dual structure. National civil judgments use the national procedural and enforcement framework, while commercial recovery and many business enforcement measures use OHADA's Uniform Act on simplified recovery and enforcement procedures, adopted on 17 October 2023, published on 15 November 2023 and effective from 16 February 2024. Available measures include injonction de payer, injonction de délivrer or restituer, saisie conservatoire, saisie-vente, saisie-attribution, saisie des rémunérations, saisie immobilière, saisie-appréhension and saisie-revendication. The creditor usually proceeds through a huissier or agent d'exécution, with the Tribunal de grande instance or commercial court and, for OHADA-law decisions, the CCJA involved according to the procedure. Recorded fees include 6,000 CFA francs for seizure of remuneration, 10,000 CFA francs for a conservatory seizure and 20,000 CFA francs for a real-estate seizure before the Tribunal de grande instance. No fixed overall enforcement period is published. The Ministry of Justice, civil-status offices, Tribunaux de grande instance, Cours d'appel, Cour de cassation, greffes, Procureur and the national OHADA commission perform different functions. Legal-aid arrangements for ordinary civil cases are not clearly published on the Ministry portal. Before filing or signing, verify the current statute, the competent court, registry practice, applicable fee, language requirements, the effect of customary practice and whether an OHADA rule displaces the national rule. Consumer protection, labour law and criminal law remain separate subjects except where their consequences are necessary to explain a civil claim or boundary.