Civil law in Mali

Malian civil law combines formal legislation with religious and customary practices in areas such as marriage, inheritance and landholding. The applicable path can therefore depend on the subject, the parties, the documents available and whether a formal title or registration exists. A person generally reaches majority at 18 and can perform civil acts independently from that age. A person under 18 is a minor. Emancipation can result from marriage or from a declaration by both parents before the President of the tribunal from the age of 16. Courts can use tutelle, curatelle or sauvegarde de justice to protect adults or minors who cannot manage their affairs. A minor capable of forming a view should be heard in matters affecting that minor. An ad hoc administrator can represent a minor where the usual representative has a conflict of interest. Civil status is recorded through a centre d'état civil and an officier d'état civil. Records cover births, recognition and filiation, supplementary judgments establishing a birth, marriages, divorce, separation, nullity and deaths. A local centre generally handles the record. Where transmission to another centre is required, the record is sent within a maximum of 8 days to the centre de rattachement and then within 15 days to the centre principal; a further 15-day period applies for transmission to the représentant de l'État. A name can arise from filiation, marriage or an administrative or court decision. A married woman keeps her own name. A child born outside marriage generally bears the mother's name, while the father's name follows from established filiation. Marriage is a public union celebrated by an officier d'état civil or a minister of religion. The parties give personal and free consent, and a marriage certificate is required to prove spousal status. The ordinary minimum age is 18 for a man and 16 for a woman. For serious reasons, a dispensation can permit marriage from age 15 through the chef de circonscription administrative, subject to an appeal before the civil judge. The parties can choose monogamy or polygamy. In a polygamous marriage, the wife's consent is required and the number of wives cannot exceed four. Separation of property is the statutory regime for both choices. A monogamous marriage can instead use community property if the spouses choose it in a notarised marriage contract made before the wedding. Divorce can proceed by mutual consent, breakdown of common life or fault. The competent court is generally linked to the spouses' last common residence or the defendant's domicile. Except in a mutual-consent divorce, conciliation is required. Hearings take place in the chambre du conseil, while the decision is public. A divorced woman in need may receive maintenance because of the husband's fault, subject to the statutory limits: up to one quarter of his income in a monogamous marriage and up to one eighth, one twelfth or one fifteenth in the relevant polygamous situations. Child custody follows the child's interests, and both parents contribute to support according to their incomes. Filiation can be established by declaration or through a tribunal. A recognised child born outside marriage generally has the same rights and duties towards the parents as other children. Adoption may create a new parent-child relationship through adoption-filiation or provide protection through adoption-protection. Child-welfare and juvenile-protection courts provide the relevant functional protection in these matters. Inheritance follows one of three possible paths: religious rules, customary rules or the Civil Code. The Code is the default where no religion or custom is proven, no contrary declaration was made before death and no compatible will establishes another path. Once a lawful path of succession has been selected, it binds the succession. The succession opens at the deceased person's last domicile. Heirs acquire the deceased person's assets, rights and legal actions by operation of law and also assume the related charges. Heir status can be proved by any form of evidence. The statutory order generally places children and other descendants first, followed by parents and siblings or their descendants, then other ascendants and other collateral relatives. The order does not distinguish by sex or birth order. A surviving spouse can receive a share with descendants, including one quarter in ownership and one quarter in usufruct under the stated statutory combination, with other statutory shares applying in other situations. The State can inherit when no heir exists. An action pétition d'hérédité, used to claim inheritance status, is generally subject to a 20-year limitation period. Contracts and other obligations are governed by the Régime général des obligations unless a special law applies. A valid contract requires consent, legal capacity, an object and a cause. Formation normally follows an offer or solicitation and acceptance; agreement on the essential clauses completes the contract. Unemancipated minors and majeurs interdits lack ordinary contractual capacity for the relevant acts. Error, fraud or violence can lead to nullity. A party facing non-performance may in suitable cases seek suspension of its own performance, forced performance, reduction, resolution or termination, and damages. A mise en demeure, meaning a formal demand to perform, generally precedes contractual damages unless an exception applies. Evidence can include written documents, testimony, presumptions, admission and oath. A convention worth more than 50,000 CFA francs generally requires a notarial deed or a private deed signed by the parties. The general limitation period for extinctive prescription is 20 years. Periodic claims such as rent, pensions and interest are generally limited to 5 years for each due amount, while certain claims against non-traders have a 1-year period. Civil liability can be contractual or extra-contractual. Recoverable harm may be material or moral and may concern present or future loss, but it must be certain and direct, and a causal link must exist. Force majeure or a fortuitous event can remove liability where the legal conditions are met. Several responsible parties can be jointly liable. A liability exclusion cannot protect a party against personal injury caused by intent or gross negligence. Land rights are governed by the Code domanial et foncier. The national domain includes land held by the State, territorial authorities and other persons under the statutory system. The formal system normally relies on a titre foncier, registration with the conservation foncière and entries in the livres fonciers. Publication of real rights makes them effective against third parties. Recognised real rights include ownership, usufruit, use and habitation, emphytéose, superficie, servitudes, antichrèse, privileges and mortgages. Rural land can in some cases be held through a concession rurale without prior registration, although a title is required when the concession is converted into registered ownership. On unregistered land, a written record of a customary agreement can strengthen proof, but customary possession generally has weaker legal force than a registered title. The cadastre is intended to operate in all communes. The Service des Domaines, the Conservateur de la propriété foncière, the commune or other territorial authority and, where relevant, a chef de village or chef de fraction can have different responsibilities, including local notice and land administration. Registration commonly involves surveying and boundary demarcation, followed by public notice for 60 days and an opportunity to oppose. If an opposition remains unresolved, the matter can go to the Tribunal or Justice de paix; the relevant filing period is generally 15 days plus the applicable distance period. Expropriation requires public utility, judicial authority and fair prior compensation. A three-member administrative commission handles attempts at amicable compensation. A civil case can begin through a requête, a statement recorded by the court clerk, a joint application or an assignation. The greffe is the court registry and an access point for procedural filings. A court may attempt conciliation at any stage. An agreement recorded in a procès-verbal can be enforced directly. With the parties' consent, a civil mediator can assist, followed by court homologation. Territorial jurisdiction generally follows the defendant's domicile, with special rules for divorce, succession and land or possession disputes. Divorce is linked to the last common residence, succession to the deceased person's last domicile, and land disputes to the location of the property. A citation generally requires at least 8 days when served within the court's seat, 15 days within the court district, 30 days elsewhere in Mali, 2 months elsewhere in Africa and 3 months outside Africa. The judicial framework includes the Cour suprême, Cours d'Appel, Tribunaux de Grande Instance, Tribunaux d'Instance and Tribunaux de Commerce, among others. Loi 2024-030 on judicial organisation provides for gradual implementation, so previous jurisdictional arrangements may continue temporarily. An appeal is filed with the court that issued the decision. A pourvoi en cassation, or appeal on points of law, generally has a 2-month period from service of the decision. A foreign judgment or arbitral award requires exequatur, meaning a Malian order recognising it for enforcement. The review includes public policy, jurisdiction, finality, proper service and reciprocity. Commercial disputes may fall within OHADA rules and may be heard by a Tribunal de Commerce or addressed through OHADA arbitration or the CCJA, the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration. CECAM, linked to the Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie du Mali, provides national and international conciliation and arbitration for business and contractual disputes. Employment, criminal and consumer matters follow their own primary legal frameworks rather than forming part of this civil-law scope. Enforcement generally follows a judgment that has force de chose jugée, meaning it is final for the relevant enforcement purpose, unless the court permits provisional enforcement or grants a period of grace. Service of the decision and a formule exécutoire are required for ordinary enforcement. The Procureur supervises enforcement, while a Huissier-Commissaire de Justice serves documents, carries out enforcement and precautionary seizure, and can conduct a sale. Enforcement normally takes place from 08:00 to 18:00; work on public holidays requires judicial permission. The Code de procédure civile, commerciale et sociale refers seizures, debt recovery and enforcement procedures to OHADA instruments. The AUVE 2023 provides procedures including orders to pay, deliver or return property, precautionary seizures and other enforcement measures. An order to pay requires a certain, liquid and due claim. Opposition to the order generally has to be filed within 15 days of service, and the decision must be served within 3 months. The Ministère de la Justice et des Droits de l'Homme, courts and greffes administer the formal justice system. The Ordre des Avocats, Ordre des Notaires and Ordre national des Huissiers-Commissaires de Justice represent the main legal professions. A notary prepares authentic deeds, provides evidentiary assistance and handles marriage contracts. A Huissier-Commissaire de Justice serves acts, performs enforcement and conducts auctions. Legal aid can be requested through the Bureau d'Assistance Judiciaire. A refusal must state reasons, and the decision has no ordinary appeal. Court fees and deadlines depend on the case; the reviewed sources do not establish a complete current tariff. Lawyer fees generally depend on complexity.