{ Adopted: 12 July 1991 / Status: 12 July 1991 }
Preamble
Trusting in the omnipotence of Allah, the Mauritanian people
Believing strongly in its spiritual values and in the spreading of
its civilization, it also solemnly proclaims its attachment to
Islam and to the principles of democracy as they have been
defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10
Dec 1948 and by the African Charter of Human and Peoples
Rights of 28 June 1981 as well as in the other international
conventions which Mauritania has signed.
Judging that liberty, equality, and the dignity
- the right to equality;
- the fundamental freedoms and rights of human beings;
- the right of property;
- political freedom and freedom of labor unions;
- economic and social rights; and
- the rights attached to the family, the basic unit of Islamic
society.
Conscious of the necessity of strengthening its ties with brother
peoples, the Mauritanian people, a Muslim, African, and Arab
people, proclaims that it will work for the achievement of the
unity of the Greater Maghreb of the Arab Nation and of Africa
and for the consolidation of peace in the world.
Article 1 [State Integrity, Equal Protection]
(1) Mauritania is an indivisible, democratic, and social Islamic
Republic.
(2) The Republic guarantees equality
(3) All particularist propaganda of racial or ethnic character
shall be punished by the law.
Article 2 [Sovereignty]
(1) The people shall be the source of all power.
(2) The national sovereignty belongs to the people which
exercises it through its elected representatives and through
referendum.
(3) No fraction of the people nor any individual may claim for
itself its exercise.
(4) No partial or total surrender of sovereignty may be decided
without the consent of the people.
Article 3 [Electoral Rights]
(1) Suffrage
(2) All the citizens of the Republic of both sexes, who are
adults and possess their civil and political rights, may vote.
Article 4 [Rule of Law]
The law is the supreme expression of the will of the people.
All are required to submit to it.
Article 5 [State Religion]
Islam shall be the religion of the people and of the State.
Article 6 [Languages]
The national languages are Arabic, Poular, Soninke, and
Wolof; the official language is Arabic.
Article 7 [Capital]
The capital of the State is Nouakchott.
Article 8 [Emblem, Seal, Anthem]
(1) The national emblem is a flag with a crescent and a gold
star on a green ground.
(2) The seal of the State and the National Anthem are
determined by law.
Article 9 [Motto]
The Motto
Article 10 [Individual Freedom, Rule of Law]
(1) The State shall guarantee to all its citizens public and
individual freedoms:
- the freedom to travel and to settle in all parts of the territory
of the Republic;
- the freedom of entry to and of exit from the national
territory;
- the freedom of opinion and of thought;
- the freedom of expression
- the freedom of assembly;
- the freedom of association and the freedom to belong to any
political or labor organization of one's choice;
- the freedom of commerce and of industry; and
- the freedom of intellectual, artistic, and scientific creative
effort.
(2) Freedom may be limited only by the law.
Article 11 [Political Parties]
(1) Parties and political groups shall work together for the
formation of the expression of the political will. They shall be
formed and shall engage in their activities freely provided that
they respect democratic principles and that through their
objectives or by their actions they do not undermine the national
sovereignty, the territorial integrity, and the unity of the Nation
and of the Republic.
(2) The law shall determine the conditions for the creation, the
functioning, and the dissolution of political parties.
Article 12 [Public Offices]
All citizens may accede to public office or employment without
condition other than those determined by the law.
Article 13 [Presumption of Innocence, Personal Liberty, Privacy, No Violence]
(1) All persons shall be presumed innocent until the
establishment of their guilt by a regularly constituted court.
(2) No one may he prosecuted, arrested, detained, or punished
except in cases determined by the law and according to the
formalities which it prescribes.
(3) The honor and the private life of the citizen and the
inviolability of his person his domicile and his correspondence
shall be protected by the State.
(4) All forms of moral or physical violence shall be proscribed.
Article 14 [Strike]
(1) The right to strike is recognized. It may be exercised
within the framework of the laws which regulate it.
(2) Strikes may he forbidden by law for all public services or
activities of vital interest to the Nation.
(3) It is forbidden in the areas of national defense and security.
Article 15 [Property]
(1) The right of property
(2) The right of inheritance shall be guaranteed.
(3) The property of the wakf and its foundations are recognized;
their use shall be protected by the law.
(4) The law may limit the extent of the exercise of private
property if the exigencies of economic and social development
require it.
(5) A process of expropriation may be instituted only when
public utility demands it and after fair and prior compensation.
(6) The law shall determine the judicial rules for expropriation.
Article 16 [Family]
The State and society shall protect the family.
Article 17 [Duty to Know the Law]
Ignorance of the law shall be no excuse.
Article 18 [Duty to Defence, No Treason]
(1) Every citizen has the duty of protecting and safe-guarding
the independence of the country, its sovereignty, and the
integrity of its territory.
(2) Treason, espionage, and going over to the enemy as well as
all infractions committed with prejudice to the security of the
State shall be punished with all the rigor of the law.
Article 19 [Obligations]
Every citizen must loyally fulfill his obligations to the national
welfare and must respect both public and private property.
Article 20 [Taxation]
(1) The citizens shall be taxed equally.
(2) Each one must share in the public tax burden according to
his ability to contribute.
(3) No tax may he instituted except by virtue of a law.
Article 21 [Foreigners]
Any alien who resides legally on national territory enjoys the
protection of the law for his person and his property.
Article 22 [Extradition]
No one may he extradited unless it is by virtue of the laws and
conventions of extradition.
Article 23 [President]
The President of the Republic shall he the Head of State
Article 24 [Presidential Functions]
(1) The President of the Republic shall he the guardian of the
constitution. He shall represent the State. He shall guarantee,
through his arbitration, the continuous and regular functioning of
public power.
(2) He is the guarantor of national independence and territorial
integrity.
Article 25 [Executive Power]
The President of the Republic exercises the executive power
Article 26 [Election]
(1) The President of the Republic is elected for six years by
direct, universal suffrage.
(2) He shall be elected by an absolute majority of the votes. If
an absolute majority is not obtained by one of the candidates
during the first round of the election, there will be a second
round on the second following Friday. Only the two candidates
remaining in the election who have received the greatest
number of votes in the first round may present themselves as
candidates.
(3) Any citizen born a Mauritanian, possessing his civil and
political rights, and at least forty years of age is eligible to be
President of the Republic.
(4) The election commences upon convocation by the President
of the Republic.
(5) The election of the new President of the Republic shall take
place at least thirty days and at most forty-five days before the
expiration of the sitting President's mandate.
(6) The conditions and the forms for accepting the candidacy as
well as the rules regarding the death or incapacity of candidates
for the Presidency of the Republic are determined by an organic
law.
(7) Candidacy papers shall be sent to the Constitutional Council
which shall rule on their legality and announce the results of the
election.
Article 27 [Incompatibility]
The office of the President of the Republic shall be
incompatible with the exercise of any other public or private
office.
Article 28 [Re-Eligibility]
The President of the Republic shall be eligible for re-election.
Article 29 [Taking Office]
The newly elected President shall take office at the expiration of
the mandate of his predecessor.
Article 30 [Competences]
(1) The President of the Republic shall determine and conduct
the foreign policy of the Nation as well as its defense and
security policy.
(2) He shall appoint the Prime Minister and discharge him from
his functions.
(3) Upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister, the
President shall appoint the Ministers to whom he may delegate
by decree certain of his powers. He shall discharge them from
their functions after consultation with the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister and the ministers are responsible to the
President of the Republic.
(4) The President of the Republic shall communicate with the
Parliament through messages. These messages shall not be the
subject of any debate.
Article 31 [Dissolution of Parliament]
(1) The President of the Republic, after consultation with the
Prime Minister and the Presidents of the Assemblies, may
pronounce the dissolution of the National Assembly. General
elections shall take place at least thirty days and at most sixty
days after the dissolution.
(2) The National Assembly shall meet in regular session fifteen
days after the elections. If this session takes place during a
period outside of the periods set aside for ordinary sessions, a
session shall be legally opened for a period of fifteen days.
(3) There cannot be a new dissolution of the Assembly during
the twelve months which follow these elections.
Article 32 [Promulgation, Statutory Power, Appointments]
(1) The President of the Republic promulgates the laws within
the time period determined by Article 70.
(2) He shall have statutory power and may delegate some or all
of this power to the Prime Minister.
(3) He shall appoint candidates to civil and military positions.
Article 33 [Countersignature]
Decrees of statutory character are countersigned, if necessary,
by the Prime Minister and the ministers charged with their
execution.
Article 34 [Commander-in-Chief]
The President of the Republic is the Supreme Chief of the
Armed Forces
Article 35 [Accrediting Ambassadors]
The President of the Republic accredits ambassadors and special
envoys from foreign powers. Ambassadors and special envoys
shall present their credentials to him.
Article 36 [Treaties]
The President of the Republic signs and ratifies treaties.
Article 37 [Pardon]
The President of the Republic has the right to grant clemency
and the right to remit or commute sentences.
Article 38 [Presidential Referendum]
The President of the Republic, on any question of national
importance, may have recourse to the people through a
referendum.
Article 39 [Emergency Measures]
(1) When an imminent peril threatens the institutions of the
Republic, the security or the independence of the Nation, or the
integrity of its territory, and when the normal functioning of the
constitutional powers is impeded, the President of the Republic
shall take the measures required by these circumstances after
official consultation with the Prime Minister and with the
Presidents of the Assemblies and of the Constitutional Council.
(2) He shall inform the nation by a message.
(3) These measures, inspired by the will to assure the
re-establishment, as soon as possible, of the continuous and
regular functioning of the public powers, shall cease to be in
effect in the same form as soon as the circumstances that have
caused them will no longer exist.
(3) Parliament shall meet in regular session.
(4) The National Assembly may not be dissolved while the
President of the Republic is exercising exceptional powers.
Article 40 [Interim Presidency]
(1) In the case of a vacancy or an incapacity declared to be
absolute by the Constitutional Council, the President of the
Senate shall become the interim President of the Republic for
managing current business. The Prime Minister and the
members of the government considered as having resigned,
shall assure the managing of current business. The interim
President may not discharge them from their functions. He
may not have recourse to the people through a referendum nor
dissolve the National Assembly.
(2) Unless a case of force majeure is declared by the
Constitutional Council, the election of the new President of the
Republic will take place within three months from the
declaration of vacancy or absolute incapacity.
(3) During the interim period, no constitutional modifications
may be instituted either by referendum or by parliamentary
means.
Article 41 [Initiative]
The Constitutional Council, in order to declare a vacancy or an
absolute incapacity, shall be informed by one of the
following:
- The President of the Republic;
- The President of the National Assembly; or
- The Prime Minister.
Article 42 [Prime Minister's Functions]
(1) The Prime Minister, under the authority of the President of the
Republic, defines the policy of the government.
(2) He divides the tasks among the ministers.
(3) He directs and coordinates the action of the government.
Article 43
(1) The government oversees the implementation of the general
policy of the State in accordance with the orientations and
options determined by the President of the Republic.
(2) It is in charge of the administration and the Armed Forces.
(3) It oversees the publication and the execution of the laws and
statutes.
(4) It is responsible to the Parliament according to the
conditions and following the procedures set forth in Articles
74 and 75.
Article 44 [Governmental Incompatibilities]
The functions of a member of the government are incompatible
with the exercise of any parliamentary mandate, with any
function of professional representation of a national character,
with any professional activity, and in general with any public or
private employment. An organic law shall determine the
conditions under which the holders of such mandates, functions,
or employment is replaced. The replacement of members of
Parliament shall take place according to the dispositions of
Article 48.
Article 45 [Parliament]
The legislative power belongs to the Parliament
Article 46 [Two Houses]
The Parliament is composed of two representative assemblies:
the National Assembly and the Senate.
Article 47 [Term, Eligibility]
(1) The Deputies to the National Assembly are elected for five
years by direct suffrage.
(2) The Senators are elected for six years by indirect suffrage.
They are responsible for the representation of the territorial
districts of the Republic. Mauritanians residing abroad are
represented in the Senate. The Senators are renewed by one
third every two years.
(3) All Mauritanian citizens who possess their civil and political
rights are eligible to be Deputies if they are at least twenty-five
years old and are eligible to be Senators if they are at least
thirty-five years old.
Article 48
(1) An organic law shall determine the conditions for the
election of the members of Parliament, their number, their
salary, their conditions of eligibility, and the system of
ineligibilities and incompatibilities.
(2) It shall also determine the conditions under which, in the
case of a vacancy of a seat, the persons called upon to replace
deputies or senators shall be elected, until the complete or
partial renewal of the Assembly to which they belong.
Article 49 [Rulings on Elections]
The Constitutional Council rules in cases where the regularity
of an election of members of parliament or their eligibility is
contested.
Article 50 [Indemnity, Immunity]
(1) No member of Parliament may be prosecuted, pursued,
arrested, detained, or tried because of the opinions or votes
voiced by him during the exercise of his functions.
(2) No member of Parliament, while Parliament is in session,
may be prosecuted or arrested for a criminal or penal matter,
except with the authorization of the assembly to which he
belongs unless it is a case of flagrante delicto or authorized
prosecution or a judicial sentence.
(3) No member of Parliament, while Parliament is out of
session, may be arrested, except with the authorization of the
office of the assembly to which he belongs unless it is a case of
flagrante delicto or authorized prosecution or a judicial
sentence.
(4) The detention or prosecution of a member of Parliament is
suspended if the assembly to which he belongs demands it.
Article 51
(1) All mandatory votes are void.
(2) The right to vote by the members of Parliament is personal.
(3) The organic law, in exceptional circumstances, may
authorize the delegation of votes.
(4) In this case, no one may receive the delegation of more than
one vote.
(5) Any deliberation outside the hours of the Parliamentary
sessions or outside the premises of the Parliament are void.
The President of the Republic may ask the Constitutional
Council to proclaim this state of nullity.
(6) The sessions of the National Assembly and of the Senate are
public. The minutes of the debates are published in the Official
Journal.
(7) Each of the assemblies may meet in closed session upon
request by the Government or by one quarter of the members
present.
Article 52 [Regular Sessions]
The Parliament meets in regular session for two ordinary
sessions each year. The first ordinary session will convene
during the first fortnight in November. The second will
convene during the first fortnight in May. The length of each
ordinary session may not exceed two months.
Article 53 [Special Sessions]
(1) The Parliament may meet in a special session at the request
of the President of the Republic or the majority of the members
of the National Assembly for a specific agenda. The length of
a special session may not exceed one month.
(2) The special sessions shall be convened and adjourned by a
decree of the President of the Republic.
Article 54 [Government in Parliament]
The members of the government have access to the two
Assemblies. They are heard when they so request. They may
be assisted by government commissioners.
Article 55 [Presidents of the Assemblies]
(1) The President of the National Assembly is elected for the
duration of the legislature.
(2) The President of the Senate is elected after each partial
renewal of the Senate.
Article 56 [Legislation]
The laws are voted by the Parliament
Article 57 [Competences]
(1) The following subjects are the domain of the law
- fundamental rights and duties, especially the system of public
freedoms, the safeguard of individual freedoms, and the
obligations imposed by national defense on citizens in their
person and on their property;
- nationality, the status and ability of persons, marriage,
divorce, and inheritance;
- the conditions of settlement of persons and the regulation of
aliens;
- the determination of crimes and misdemeanors as well as the
sentences which are applicable, penal procedure, amnesty, the
creation and organization of tribunals, and the regulation of
magistrates;
- civil procedure and means of execution;
- customs regulation, regulation of coining of money, regulation
of banks, credit, and insurance;
- electoral regulations and the territorial division of the
country;
- regulation of property, real rights, and civil and commercial
obligations;
- general regulation of water, mines, and hydro-carbons, fishing
and the merchant marine, fauna, flora, and the
environment;
- the protection and safeguard of the cultural and historical
patrimony;
- general regulations concerning education and health;
- general regulations concerning workers rights, right to work,
and social welfare;
- the general organization of the administration;
- the free administration of local districts, their jurisdiction, and
their resources;
- the tax base, the tax rate, and the modes of collecting taxes of
all kinds;
- the creation of categories of public establishments;
- the fundamental protection granted to civil and military
employees as well as the general regulation of the Civil
Service;
- nationalizations of enterprises and the transfers of property
from the public sector to the private sector; and
- general regulations concerning the organization of the National
Defense.
(2) The laws governing finances
(3) Laws and programs shall determine the objectives of the
economic and social action of the State.
(4) The provisions of the present article may be stipulated and
completed by an organic law.
Article 58 [Declaration of War]
The declaration of war shall be authorized by the Parliament.
Article 59 [Regulatory Power, Decrees]
(1) Matters other than those which are the domain of the law
come under the regulatory power.
(2) The texts in legislative form relating to these matters may be
modified by decree if the Constitutional Council declares that
they have a regulatory character by virtue of the preceding
paragraph.
Article 60 [Ordinances]
(1) With the agreement of the President of the Republic, the
government, in order to execute its program, may ask the
Parliament for the authorization for a limited period of time to
pass ordinances for measures which are normally in the domain
of the law.
(2) These ordinances are passed in the Council of Ministers and
require the approval of the President of the Republic who signs
them.
(3) They come into effect as soon as they are published, but
they become void if the bill of ratification is not presented to
Parliament before the date set by the enabling law.
(4) With the expiration of the time limit mentioned in the first
paragraph, the ordinances may be modified only by the law,
concerning matters which are in the legislative domain.
(5) The enabling law becomes void if the National Assembly is
dissolved.
Article 61 [Legislative Initiative]
(1) The legislative initiative belongs jointly to the Government
and to the members of Parliament.
(2) Bills are debated in the Council of Ministers and brought to
the desk of one of the two assemblies. Finance bills are first
submitted to the National Assembly.
Article 62 [Right of Amendment]
(1) The Government and the members of Parliament have the
right of amendment.
(2) The bills or amendments proposed by the members of
Parliament shall not be accepted when their adoption would
entail either a reduction in public revenues or the creation or
enlargement of public expenses unless they are accompanied by
a bill for increasing revenues or equivalent savings.
(3) They may be declared unacceptable when they bear upon a
matter which comes under the regulatory power by virtue of
Article 59 or are contrary to a delegation granted by virtue
of Article 60.
(4) If the Parliament disregards the objections raised by the
Government by virtue of one of the two preceding paragraphs,
the President of the Republic has recourse to the Constitutional
Council which rules within a period of one week.
Article 63 [Text for Debate]
(1) The debate of a bill in the first assembly to which it is
proposed pertains to the text of the bill as presented by the
government.
(2) An assembly presented with a bill voted on by the other
assembly debates the bill which is transmitted to it.
Article 64 [Committees]
(1) Draft laws and bills, at the request of the Government or of
the assembly to which they are referred, are sent for
examination to committees specially set up for this purpose.
(2) Draft laws and hills for which such a request has not been
made are sent to one of the permanent committees whose
number is limited to five in each assembly.
Article 65 [Government Bills]
(1) After debate has begun, the Government may oppose the
consideration of any amendment which has not previously been
submitted to the Committee.
(2) If the Government requests, the concerned assembly may
pass with a single vote all or part of the bill under discussion
retaining only the amendments proposed or accepted by the
Government.
Article 66 [Joint Conference]
(1) Any draft law or bill is examined in turn by the two
assemblies with a view toward adopting an identical text.
(2) In the case of a disagreement and when the government has
declared a state of urgency, the bill may be submitted after a
single reading by each of the two assemblies to a joint
conference committee responsible for proposing a text
concerning the provisions still being discussed.
(3) This text may he submitted in the same manner to the two
assemblies for adoption. In this case no further amendments
are accepted.
(4) If the joint conference committee is not able to propose a
common text or if this text is not adopted by the two
assemblies, the Government, after a new reading by the two
chambers, may request the National Assembly to rule
conclusively.
Article 67 [Majority, Constitutionality]
(1) The laws on which the Constitution confers the character of
organic laws are voted on and modified according to the
following conditions.
(2) The suggested law or bill is submitted to debate and to a
vote by the first assembly consulted only after the expiration of
a time period of fifteen days from when it is put forward.
(3) The procedure indicated in Article 66 is applicable.
However, if there is no agreement between the two assemblies,
the text can be adopted in a last reading by the National
Assembly only with an absolute majority of its members.
(4) Organic laws concerning the Senate must be voted on in the
same terms by the two assemblies.
(5) Organic laws may he promulgated only after certification by
the Constitutional Council of their conformity with the
Constitution.
Article 68 [Finance Bill, Budget, Audit Office]
(1) The Parliament votes on the finance bill
(2) The Parliament considers the finance bill as soon as the
November session is convened.
(3) If the National Assembly has not passed the bill after a first
reading within thirty days after the bill has been put forward,
the Government consults the Senate which must rule within
fifteen days. Then, the procedure is followed under the
conditions as set forth in Article 66.
(4) If the Parliament has not voted on the budget by the end of
the session or if it has not voted a balanced budget, the
Government sends the proposed budget within fifteen days to
the National Assembly convened in a special session.
(5) The National Assembly must rule within eight days. If the
budget is not voted on at the end of this time period, the
President of the Republic passes the budget automatically
through an ordinance based on the revenues from the preceding
year.
(6) The Parliament controls the administration of the State
budget and supplementary budgets. A statement of expenses
will be provided to the Parliament at the end of each six-month
period for the previous six-month period. The final accounts of
a mandate will be registered during the course of the budgetary
session for the following year and approved by a law.
(7) An Audit Office assists the Parliament and the Government
in its control of the administration of the laws governing
finances.
Article 69 [Agenda, Interpellation]
(1) The agenda of the assemblies shall include, by priority and
in the order determined by the Government, the discussion of
the draft laws and bills accepted by the Government.
(2) One session per week by priority and in the order
determined by the Government shall be reserved for discussion
of draft laws and bills accepted by the Government.
(3) One session per week shall be reserved by priority for
questions by members of Parliament and for the answers from
the Government.
Article 70 [Promulgation]
(1) The President of the Republic shall promulgate the laws
within a time period of eight days at the earliest and thirty days
at the latest, following the transmission to him of the laws by
the Parliament.
(2) During this period, the President may send back the draft
law or bill for a second reading. If the National Assembly
decides on the adoption of the law by a majority of its
members, the law shall be promulgated and published during
the time period indicated in the preceding paragraph.
Article 71 [Martial Law, State of Emergency]
(1) Martial law and a state of emergency are decreed by the
President of the Republic for a maximum duration of thirty days.
(2) This duration may he changed by the Parliament. The
Parliament convenes in regular session if it is not in session at
the time.
(3) The law defines the exceptional powers granted to the
President of the Republic by the declaration of martial law and
a state of emergency.
Article 72 [Information]
The Government is required to provide to the Parliament, in the
form established by law, all explanations requested concerning
its management and its acts.
Article 73 [Governmental Report]
The Prime Minister, once a year during the course of the
November session, delivers a report to the National Assembly
about the activity of the Government during the past year and
lays out the general lines of his program for the coming year.
Article 74 [Responsibility, Motion of Censure]
(1) The Prime Minister, together with his ministers, is
responsible to the National Assembly. A lack of confidence or
a motion of censure shall result in bringing into question his
political responsibility.
(2) The Prime Minister, after deliberation with the Council of
Ministers, shall take the responsibility of the Government
before the National Assembly for his program and ultimately
for a declaration of general policy.
(3) The National Assembly may challenge the responsibility of
the Government by voting a motion of censure.
(4) A motion of censure brought by a deputy must expressly
bear this title and the signature of its author. Such a motion is
acceptable only if it is signed by at least one third of the
members of the National Assembly. The vote may take place
only forty-eight hours after raising the question of the lack of
confidence or the motion of censure.
Article 75 [Vote of No Confidence, Resignation]
(1) The vote of no confidence or the adoption of a motion of
censure causes the immediate resignation of the Government.
Such a vote or motion can only be reached by a majority of the
deputies making up the National Assembly; only the votes of no
confidence or the votes favorable in the motion of censure shall be
counted.
(2) The resigned government continues to manage current
business unlit the nomination by the President of the Republic
of a new Prime Minister and a new Government.
(3) If a motion of censure is rejected, its signataries may not
propose a new one during the course of the same session except
in the case set forth in the following paragraph.
(4) The Prime Minister, after deliberation with the Council of
Ministers takes the responsibility of the Government before the
National Assembly for the voting of a bill. In this case, this
bill shall be considered adopted unless a motion of censure
brought during the following twenty-four hours shall be voted
under the conditions set forth in the first paragraph.
(5) The Prime Minister may ask the Senate for the approval of
a declaration of general policy.
Article 76 [Delayed Closure of Sessions]
Closure of ordinary or special sessions shall be legally delayed
in order to permit, if necessary, the application of the
provisions of Article 75.
Article 77 [Dissolution after Resignation]
(1) If, during a period of less than thirty-six months, there have
occurred two changes of government following a vote of no
confidence or a motion of censure, the President of the
Republic, after consulting with the President of the National
Assembly, may declare the dissolution of the National
Assembly.
(2) In this case, there will be new elections within forty days at
most. The new National Assembly shall convene in regular
session three weeks after its election.
Article 78 [Ratification by Law]
(1) Peace treaties, union treaties, commerce treaties, treaties or
accords concerning an international organization, treaties which
require the finances of the State, treaties which modify
provisions of a legislative nature, treaties concerning the status
of persons, and treaties concerning the borders of the State may
only he ratified by a law.
(2) They may take effect only after being ratified or approved.
No cession, no exchange, and no annexation of territory is valid
without the consent of the people who shall decide through
referendum.
(3) In the case set forth in the last paragraph of Article 2,
the required majority is four-fifths of the votes cast.
Article 79 [Treaty After Constitutional Revision]
If the Constitutional Council, consulted by the President of the
Republic, by the President of the National Assembly, by the
President of the Senate, or by one third of the senators,
declares that an international agreement includes a clause
contrary to the Constitution, the authorization to ratify or to
approve it may only occur after revision of the Constitution.
Article 80
Treaties and accords regularly ratified or approved, as soon as
they are published have an authority superior to that of laws
contingent upon its application by the other party for each
accord or treaty.
Article 81 [Composition]
(1) The Constitutional Council
(2) The members of the Constitutional Council must be at least
thirty-five years old.
(3) They may not belong to the leadership of any political
party. They enjoy parliamentary immunity.
(4) The President of the Constitutional Council is appointed by
the President of the Republic from among the members whom
he shall name. He has the deciding vote in the case of a tie.
Article 82 [Incompatibilities]
The functions of a member of the Constitutional Council are
incompatible with those of a member of the Government or of
Parliament. Any other incompatibilities shall be determined by
an organic law.
Article 83 [Functions]
(1) The Constitutional Council evaluates the legality of the
election of the President of the Republic.
(2) It examines challenges and announces the results of the
election.
Article 84 [Judging Elections]
In the case of a dispute, the Constitutional Council judges the
legality of the election of the deputies and the senators.
Article 85 [Evaluation of Referendum]
The Constitutional Council evaluates the legality of the
referendum and announces the results.
Article 86 [Prior Constitutional Review]
(1) The organic laws, before they may be promulgated, and the
regulations of the parliamentary assemblies, before they may be
applied, must be submitted to the Constitutional Council which
certifies that they are in conformity with the Constitution.
(2) For the same purpose, the laws, before they are
promulgated, may be submitted to the Constitutional Council by
the President of the Republic, the President of the National
Assembly, the President of the Senate, or by one third of the
deputies in the National Assembly or by one third of the
senators in the Senate.
(3) In the cases set forth in the two preceding paragraphs, the
Constitutional Council must rule within one month. However,
at the request of the President of the Republic, if it is urgent,
this time limit is reduced to one week.
(4) In the same cases, the submission of a law to the
Constitutional Council is suspends the time limit for its
promulgation.
Article 87 [Final and Binding Judgment]
(1) A provision which is declared unconstitutional may not be
promulgated or put into operation.
(2) The decisions of the Constitutional Council assume authority
over the matters brought before it.
(3) The decisions of the Constitutional Council are not subject
to appeal. They must be complied with by the public
authorities and by all administrative and jurisdictional
authorities.
Article 88 [Organizational Law]
An organic law determines the rules governing the organization
and the functioning of the Constitutional Council, the procedure
which are being followed before it, and in particular the time
limits for referring challenges to it.
Article 89 [Independence of Courts]
(1) The judicial branch
(2) The President of the Republic is the guarantor of the
independence of the magistrature.
(3) He is assisted by the Superior Council of the Magistrature
which he presides over.
(4) An organic law determines the status of the magistrature, its
composition, and the functioning and the prerogatives of the
Superior Council of the Magistrature.
Article 90 [Independence of Judges]
(1) A judge shall obey only the law
(2) In the exercise of his duties he shall be protected against all
forms of pressure of a nature to impair his free will.
Article 91 [Personal Liberty]
(1) No one may be detained arbitrarily.
(2) The judicial branch, the guardian of individual liberty, is
responsible for respecting this principle under the conditions
established by law.
Article 92 [Constitution]
(1) There is instituted a High Court of Justice.
(2) It is composed of members elected from its midst and in
equal number by the National Assembly and the Senate after
each complete or partial renewal of these assemblies. It elects
its president from among its members.
(3) An organic law determines the composition of the High
Court of Justice and the rules governing its functioning as well
as the procedure applicable before it.
Article 93 [Liability of Government]
(1) The President of the Republic is held liable for the acts
committed in the exercise of his duties only in the case of high
treason.
(2) He may be impeached only by the two assemblies voting
together in a public vote by an absolute majority of the
members; he is tried before the High Court of Justice.
(3) The Prime Minister and the members of the government are
held criminally liable for the acts committed in the exercise of
their duties and defined as crimes or misdemeanors at the time
they were committed. The procedure defined above is
applicable to them as well as to their accomplices in the case of
a conspiracy against the security of the State. In the case set
forth in the present paragraph the High Court of Justice is
bound by the definition of crimes and misdemeanors, as well as
by the determination of sentences resulting from the penal laws
in force at the time the acts were committed.
Article 94 [High Islamic Council]
(1) There shall be instituted next to the President of the
Republic a High Islamic Council composed of five members.
(2) The President and the other members of the High Islamic
Council are appointed by the President of the Republic.
(3) The High Islamic Council meets at the request of the
President of the Republic.
(4) It formulates opinions concerning the questions about which
it has been consulted by the President of the Republic.
Article 95 [Economic and Social Council]
(1) The Economic and Social Council, when consulted by the
President of the Republic, offers advice about the draft laws,
ordinances, or decrees of an economic or social character as
well as the bills of the same nature which have been submitted
to it.
(2) The Economic and Social Council may designate one of its
members to lay before the parliamentary assemblies the opinion
of the Council concerning the draft laws or bills which have
been submitted to it.
Article 96 [General Economic Advice]
The Economic and Social Council may also be consulted by the
President of the Republic about any question of economic or
social character concerning the State. Any plan or proposed
law of a economic or social character shall be submitted to it
for advice.
Article 97 [Organizational Law on Economic and Social Council]
The composition of the Economic and Social Council and the
rules governing its functioning shall be determined by an
organic law.
Article 98 [Communes, Electoral Law]
(1) The territorial districts
(2) These districts are administered by councils elected under
the conditions established by law.
Article 99 [Initiative, Majority, Limits]
(1) The initiative for a revision of the Constitution belongs
jointly to the President of the Republic and to the members of
Parliament. No proposed revision presented by the members of
Parliament may be debated if it has not been signed by at least
one third of the members of one of the assemblies.
(2) Any proposed revision must be passed by a two-thirds
majority of the deputies in the National Assembly and a
two-thirds majority of the senators in the Senate in order for it
being submitted for a referendum.
(3) No procedure for revision may be initiated if it challenges
the existence of the State or undermines the integrity of the
territory, the republican form of government, or the pluralist
character of Mauritanian democracy.
Article 100 [Referendum]
The revision of the Constitution is complete when approved by
a simple majority of the votes cast in a referendum.
Article 101 [Congress]
However, the proposed revision is not presented for a
referendum when the President of the Republic has decided to
submit it to the Parliament convened in congress; in this case,
the proposed revision is approved only if it receives a
three-fifths majority of the votes cast. The bureau of the
Congress is that of the National Assembly.
Article 102 [Establishment of Institutions]
The establishment of the institutions set forth in the present
Constitution begins three months at the latest after its
promulgation and is concluded nine months at the latest after its
promulgation.
Article 103 [Military Committee, Party and Press Laws]
(1) While waiting for the establishment of the institutions set forth
in the present Constitution, power shall be exercised in conformity
with the provisions of the Constitutional Charter of the Military
Committee of National Salvation of 9 Feb 1985.
(2) The Military Committee of National Salvation has decided, in
addition, that the regulatory texts concerning the freedom of
organizing political parties and the freedom of the press shall be
adopted two weeks at the latest after the adoption of the
Constitution.