Danièle Darlan (born 1952) is a Central African lawyer, professor and jurist who served as President of the country's

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

from 2017 to 2022. Her appointment was abruptly revoked by President

Faustin-Archange Touadéra Faustin-Archange Touadéra (; born 21 April 1957) is a Central African politician and academic who has been President of the Central African Republic since March 2016. He previously was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from Janu ...

by a presidential decree in October 2022, with Jean-Pierre Waboe temporarily assuming her role on 28 October 2022.

Early life and education

Darlan's father Georges Darlan was the president of the Representative Council of

Ubangi-Shari Ubangi-Shari () was a French colonial empire, French colony in central Africa, a part of French Equatorial Africa. It was named after the Ubangi River, Ubangi and Chari River, Chari rivers of the Central African Republic, rivers along which it w ...

from 1949 to 1952. She obtained a doctorate in law in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Career

Darlan was professor of public at the

University of Bangui The University of Bangui () is a public university located in Bangui, Central African Republic. History Before independence in Oubangui-Chari (later to be called the Central African Republic), most students going on to higher education headed f ...

for thirty years, in a country where there are very few women professors, and low numbers of girls completing higher education. She has said, "I feel like it is a personal failure. Maybe I inspired someone outside the university; maybe I was more an example for boys than girls." Darlan served as vice-president of the Constitutional Court from 2013, before being elected president in 2017. She is the first woman in the role. In June 2020, she refused to give approval to revisions of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

proposed by the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

and supported by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Touadéra, which would have allowed him to stay in power and delay the electoral process. It was Darlan's role to declare the outcome of the controversial 2020–2021 election, declaring Touadéra's victory and rejecting a suit filed by 13 of the 16 other candidates arguing there had been "massive fraud". She said the court had "not received any pressure, either from the president, or from the special representative of the UN secretary general, or from any embassy." In October 2022, Darlan was removed from her position by Touadéra, citing her age. On 3 January 2023, the Constitutional Court ruled that Touadéra's decision had been unconstitutional; Darlan ultimately did not resume her role, having announced during the interim period that she would not return to the court.

Recognition

In March 2023, Darlan was one of the recipients of that year's

International Women of Courage Awards International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, presented by the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

in recognition of her tenure on the Central African Constitutional Court.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darlan, Danièle Living people 1952 births Academic staff of the University of Bangui Central African Republic judges Central African Republic lawyers 21st-century judges 21st-century women judges Constitutional court women judges Constitutional court judges Women chief justices Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award Women lawyers Women judges