The Constitution of the Republic of Mali from 1992 introduced a centralized constitutional review by a specialized court for the first time in the country’s history. Following the example of the French constitutional council, the Constitutional Court of Mali is competent to review laws only a priori, i.e. before promulgation. Furthermore, access to the court is restricted to few state institutions. Despite these limitations, the Court has played a role in the consolidation of democracy in Mali up to 2012. Two decisions stand out as exceptional in this respect: One is a decision from 1996 regarding a new election code. Here the Court pronounced itself on a number of issues relevant to democracy, especially the right of independent candidates to stand for elections. In another landmark decision in 2001, the Court stopped a constitutional reform on formal grounds and reserved at the same time the right to review constitutional amendments in substance. Even though the Constitutional Court has in parts actively shaped the democratization process over the past 20 years, it played only a marginal role in the crisis that has shaken the country since the year 2012: A coup d’état and an ongoing conflict in Northern Mali. The Peace Accord, signed in Algiers in 2015, awaits implementation. In August 2017 a constitutional reform was finally called off after protests from the political opposition and civil society.
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