The Judicialisation of the Electoral Dispute at the Fédération des Entreprises du Congo: Facts and Legal Arguments<br>Working Paper No. 01/2021

SUMMARY

On the occasion of the election of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Fédération des entreprises du Congo (FEC) held on 26 November 2020, a dispute broke out and the underlying litigation [was] brought respectively before the Conseil d'État, the Tribunal de grande instance de Kinshasa/Gombe, and the Cour constitutionnelle.

Whereas the administrative judge had annulled the said election following an emergency interim-relief procedure, the judges of the high court and the constitutional court instead upheld it; which appears to be a confusion within the country's judicial apparatus.

Focused on an exegetical methodology, this legal analysis revealed that the reasoning of the TGI and the Cour constitutionnelle is well-founded, because the Conseil d'État lacks material jurisdiction to adjudicate disputes of professional associations such as the FEC. The contrary could have prejudiced the exercise of freedom of association and the business climate, in view of the signal this could send to foreign investors.