Central African Republic - October 2022

Following the Constitutional Court’s annulment of presidential decrees to establish a constitutional reform process in September, inter-branch conflict in the Central African Republic escalated in October. By law, justices of the Constitutional Court cannot be removed during their term unless they suffer a “definitive incapacity.” Chief Justice Danièle Darlan was appointed to fill one of the constitutionally defined seats on the court for members of a faculty of law. The government therefore sought to force her off the Court by issuing a decree to lower the retirement age for university faculty, thus requiring her to retire from the law faculty at the University of Bangui. The government decreed on 25 October that the appointments of Chief Justice Danièle Darlan and Justice Trinité Bango Sangafio were annulled because of a “definitive incapacity.” In a letter to the President, Darlan has argued that her removal from the Court contravenes the constitution.

Sources: Reuters, Radio France Internationale, Jeune Afrique