Côte d'Ivoire

• The Constitution of 2016, the highest law
• Codes and statutes in the French style
• OHADA uniform acts, which govern business law across the member states
• Customary law, in limited matters, though state law normally prevails

• The Court of Cassation (ordinary courts) and the Council of State (administrative courts)
• The Constitutional Council, which reviews laws and election disputes
• Courts of appeal and first-instance courts

A law degree, a professional training period, and registration with the Ivorian Bar.

• OHADA gives it business law shared with a large group of African countries.
• Like France, it separates ordinary and administrative courts.
• French is the language of the law, while many languages are spoken at home.

France, Senegal, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Morocco

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Côte d'Ivoire as: Civil law, Customary. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria.

• Constitutional Council of Côte d'Ivoire

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.