The Constitutional Court (french: Cour constitutionnelle) is the supreme authority on

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...

. The Constitutional Court deals with the interpretation of the Constitution of 2005 and is considered the country's second highest court. In conjunction with the Burundian Supreme Court (''Cour Suprême''), the Constitutional Court can sit ''

en banc In law, an en banc session (; French for "in bench"; also known as ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank'') is a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by one judge or a smaller ...

'' as a High Court of Justice (''Haute Cour de Justice'') with special prerogatives, such as the power to try an incumbent president. It sits at

Bujumbura Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's normal capital. In late ...

and its incumbent president is Charles Ndagijimana. The court was established in 1992 as the authority on the new constitution adopted the same year. Previously, the Supreme Court had exercised jurisdiction over constitutional questions. In May 2015, the Constitutional Court was called to rule on the legality for a candidate to stand for a third term as

president of Burundi The president of Burundi, officially the President of the Republic (French: ''Président de la République''), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Burundi. The president is also commander-in-chief of the National Def ...

. The case occurred against the background of the widespread popular unrest against the government of

Pierre Nkurunziza Pierre Nkurunziza (18 December 19648 June 2020) was a Burundian politician who served as the ninth president of Burundi for almost 15 years from August 2005 until his death in June 2020. A member of the Hutu ethnic group, Nkurunziza taught ph ...

who had held the position since 2005. The court ruled that the Constitution of 2005 did not prohibit a third term, ruling that Nkurunziza's first mandate should not be counted because he had been selected by parliament. The judgment was deeply controversial and was accused of pro-government bias. The court's vice-president, Sylvere Nimpagaritse, fled into exile before the judgment was released, claiming that the government had applied pressure to the judges to decide in favour of three-term presidencies. Nkurunziza subsequently served for a third term and died in 2020 shortly after announcing that he would not stand for a fourth. ;List of Presidents * 1992–1996: Gérard Niyungeko * 1996–1998: The Constitutional Court was abolished and then reorganized. * 1998–2006:

Domitille Barancira Domitille Barancira is a Burundian judge who chaired the Constitutional Court from 1998 until 2006. She subsequently served as Burundi's ambassador to Germany. Career Domitille Barancira took a law degree from the University of Burundi. She ...

* 2007–2013: Christine Nzeyimana * 2013–present: Charles Ndagijimana

References

External links

La Cour constitutionnelle du Burundi
at Association des Cours Constitutionnelles ayant en Partage l'Usage du Français (ACCPUF) {{Africa topic, Constitutional Court of, title=Constitutional Courts of Africa, countries_only=yes Law of Burundi

1992 establishments in Burundi Courts and tribunals established in 1992

See also

References

External links