Civil law in Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast has no single, fully consolidated current civil code identified in the reviewed official online material. Civil-law rules therefore come from national laws, procedural codes and specialized statutes, while OHADA acts govern many business matters directly and prevail over conflicting national business rules. The Common Court of Justice and Arbitration (CCJA) in Abidjan provides uniform interpretation and cassation for OHADA law. National courts hear civil matters at first instance and on appeal, with specialized commercial courts handling commercial disputes in Abidjan. The civil-status system records births, marriages and deaths through the mairie and its officier de l'état civil, the municipal civil-status officer. A birth should be declared within three months at the mairie of the place of birth. A birth abroad normally requires a local record, consular transcription and processing through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Access to these records depends on identity and birth documents, while official online sources do not provide one complete, current national fee schedule. Marriage has legal effect when it is celebrated before the competent officier de l'état civil. The minimum age is 18, and both parties must give personal consent. Common documents include a recent birth certificate or a judgment replacing one, usually issued less than three months earlier. The procedure normally includes at least ten days of preparation and one month of publication. Spouses can choose communauté de biens or séparation de biens; a notarial marriage contract records the selected property regime. For parentage, the mother is established by giving birth. A father is established through recognition or a court judgment when the child was born outside marriage. A child can seek determination of parentage, and the claim to establish it does not expire. Disputes about civil status or parentage go to the Tribunal de première instance (TPI) or another competent civil court. Divorce and separation of bodies are handled by the TPI under national rules. An individual application can rely, among other grounds, on adultery, serious abuse or insults, or abandonment that makes continued married life unreasonable. A joint application is available after at least two years of marriage. The decision must be entered as a marginal note in the relevant civil-status records. Inheritance begins at death. An heir may accept purely and simply or with the benefit of inventory, either expressly or by conduct that shows acceptance. The surviving spouse may inherit when the statutory conditions are met, and collateral relatives can inherit up to the sixth degree. A notary can prepare authentic instruments, inventories and estate documents. Where the succession is ownerless or unclear, the TPI and the Domaines administration may become involved. Costs and timing depend on the estate and the procedure. Urban land ownership is documented through the Arrêté de concession définitive (ACD), the administrative act that establishes full ownership rights over urban state land. The Guichet Unique du Foncier, land registry, cadastre and an approved géomètre may be involved. An attestation villageoise or lotissement document without an ACD does not provide the same full title and may not support sale, inheritance or encumbrance in the same way. Rural customary rights are handled under the rural land framework. A Certificat Foncier proves individual or collective customary rights, but it does not automatically equal a fully registered title. The process can begin with the sous-préfet or the Comité villageois de gestion foncière rurale (CVGFR), followed by an AFOR commissioner and approved surveyor, local investigation, publication for one month, review by the competent committees, approval by AFOR and signature by the préfet. The application form is listed by AFOR at 10,000 FCFA. A certificate can be inherited or transferred partly or wholly, subject to the applicable procedure. Village notables and CVGFR bodies may help document rights or mediate disputes, but their involvement does not replace the statutory process. Contracts create rights and duties concerning performance, payment, evidence and the consequences of non-performance. Written drafting and, where required, registration are central to proving the agreement. Commercial contracts, trader status, the Registre du Commerce et du Crédit Mobilier (RCCM), sales and transport are covered substantially by the OHADA Uniform Act on General Commercial Law (AUDCG). Security interests are governed by the OHADA Uniform Act Organising Securities (AUS). Contract costs can include drafting, notarial work, registration, court proceedings, mediation or arbitration. The OHADA Uniform Act on Mediation (AUM) and Uniform Act on Arbitration (AUA) provide formal alternatives, especially for commercial disputes. Civil liability generally concerns damage, breach of a duty, causation and compensation. A civil court may assess the loss and the conduct that caused it. Evidence, expert assessment and insurance can affect the claim and the amount sought. The reviewed official material confirms the functional civil-liability framework but does not provide a complete, current online statement of every substantive rule or limitation period. Civil proceedings use the Code de Procédure Civile, Commerciale et Administrative and may involve a TPI or detached section, a court of appeal, a civil, commercial or administrative chamber, the greffe, a lawyer and a commissaire de Justice for service. Commercial disputes in Abidjan may go to the Tribunal de Commerce and the Cour d'appel de commerce. OHADA disputes normally proceed through national courts at first instance and on appeal, with cassation before the CCJA. Court fees, lawyer's fees, notarial fees, service fees and expert costs can arise under Décret 2013-279. Current, nationally uniform access data for income-based legal aid was not established in the reviewed material. Enforcement follows the OHADA Uniform Act on Simplified Recovery Procedures and Enforcement Measures (AUVE), whose 2023 version has applied since 16 February 2024. Available procedures include an order to pay, an order to deliver or return property, protective seizures and enforcement seizures such as seizure and sale, seizure of receivables and seizure of immovable property. The TPI president or delegated judge, the commissaire de Justice and the greffe may each have a defined role. Ivorian Order 2024-102 allocates national jurisdiction and remedies for disputes about enforcement and protective measures. Proceedings started before 16 February 2024 remain subject to the former 1998 AUVE rules. Customary arrangements, local notables and CVGFR bodies can help gather evidence, obtain consent or mediate a dispute, particularly in rural land matters. They do not have the same legal effect as a judgment, an ACD, a Certificat Foncier or another enforceable title. A dispute may move to formal mediation, arbitration or a state court when an agreement fails or a party does not comply. The competent authority, current fees and timing should be checked for the specific location, document, claim and procedural stage.