Civil law in Guinea

Guinea has a formal, codified civil-law system based mainly on the Code civil L/2019/035/AN, which contains 1,635 articles in five books. These books cover persons and civil status, marriage property and inheritance, property rights, obligations, and contracts and related legal acts. The Code de procédure civile, économique et administrative D/98/100/PRG/SGG sets procedural rules in 1,310 articles. The Code foncier et domanial O/92/019 governs land and property matters, while the Etat civil Act L/2023/020/CNT regulates civil-status registration. Civil status records document births, marriages and deaths through main and secondary registration centres. An officier de l'état civil, normally the mayor or a representative, performs the registration; diplomatic or consular personnel handle registrations abroad. The prosecutor can supervise the records. A correction may be sought from the president of the Tribunal de première instance or the prosecutor, and the president of that court can issue a certificat de nationalité. Full legal age is 18. Tutelle, curatelle and sauvegarde de justice provide different forms of protection for adults who cannot manage their affairs, subject to the applicable legal requirements and evidence. A contract creates obligations, meaning a duty to provide, do or refrain from doing something. A sale may be verbal, privately signed or authentic, depending on the transaction and the required proof. Disputes can concern delivery, transfer of ownership, payment, proof, formal notice and the consequences of non-performance. Commercial matters may fall under OHADA rules or a commercial section, so the classification of the dispute can affect the competent body and procedure. Property law covers ownership, fruits, easements and usufruct. Ownership can arise through succession, donation or testament, an obligation, accession or prescription. For land, the plan foncier, immatriculation, the Livre foncier and registration of real rights provide the formal framework. Notarial acts and land-register publicity are practically central, but implementation can vary between communes and land-registration offices. Commissions foncières may also have a role. Expropriation for public utility requires fair and prior compensation under the applicable rules. Marriage is a public civil act. The minimum marriage age is 18, although a dispensation may be possible for a serious reason. Matrimonial property generally follows a community-of-property or separation-of-property regime. Divorce may be based on mutual consent, breakdown of marital life or fault. The juge aux affaires familiales deals with relevant family matters, including separation, parental authority, custody, maintenance and support payments. Filiation established under the law creates equal rights and duties for the child. Adoption is also governed by civil-law rules. Inheritance opens when a person dies and is generally opened at the deceased person's last domicile. Legal heirs receive the deceased person's property, rights and legal claims together with estate liabilities, subject to the applicable succession rules. If there are no heirs, the estate passes to the State. Donations, wills, liquidation and division of the estate can require notarial acts, while the Tribunal de première instance handles disputed matters. Family and land conflicts make succession procedures particularly significant in practice. Civil liability may arise from a contract or from conduct outside a contract. The rules can cover personal conduct, things, animals, buildings and acts of another person, including responsibility involving parents, guardians or employers. Force majeure, a third party's conduct or the injured person's own fault can exclude or reduce liability where the legal conditions are met. Compensation may cover the proven loss, and the framework also recognises product liability and ecological damage. A civil action starts an instance before the competent court. The claimant must identify the proper material and territorial jurisdiction and present admissible documents and other proof. Service usually takes place through an assignation, while a requête is used where legislation permits it. The court may encourage conciliation. Urgent matters can lead to référé proceedings or an ordonnance sur requête, and a juge de la mise en état may manage preparation of the case. The ordinary path is the Tribunal de première instance, then the civil and administrative chamber of the Cour d'appel, and finally the Cour suprême for legal review rather than a new assessment of all facts. Appeal effects, provisional enforcement, deadlines and costs depend on the case and the court district; there is no reliable nationwide standard duration or flat cost. A final judgment or another enforceable title can be handed to a huissier de justice for enforcement. Available measures include provisional seizure, seizure of movable or immovable property, recovery of property, judicial sale and distribution of the sale proceeds. An astreinte can pressure a party to comply. Enforcement generally takes place between 06:00 and 21:00, excluding Sundays and public holidays unless special authorisation applies. A foreign judgment or deed must first satisfy the conditions for enforcement under Guinean law. The Loi L/2022/012/CNT provides legal aid for people who cannot afford proceedings. An application may be made before, during or after a case, including during enforcement. Eligible groups include Guinean nationals, reciprocal foreign nationals, minors without a reciprocity requirement, refugees and stateless persons. The applicant normally proves resources below the annual SMIG or undergoes a social inquiry. Aid may be total or partial and can cover an advocate and required public or ministerial officers, subject to the available budget and any special schedule set by the Minister of Justice. Ordinary fees for the registry, service, notarial work, huissier services and experts vary, and land charges follow separate schedules whose current amounts should be checked before payment.