Benin

1. Composition and structure

Number of members

The President, three Councillors, four Assistants, the Attorney General.

Recruitment procedures and incompatibilities

Recruiting: High level magistrates and lawyers with fifteen years of experience at least; appointment by decree signed, in the Council of ministers, by the President of the Republic upon a proposal by the President of the Supreme Court, and on the advice of the High Council of the Judiciary.

Incompatibilities: the members of the Chamber cannot belong to the Government, nor have any electoral mandate, nor be barrister, law official or auxiliary of Justice, nor have any other private profession.

Any other public activity must be authorized by the President of the Supreme Court.

Internal Organisation

Three magistrates sit in the Chamber.
The periodicity of the sessions is set down by an order of the President of the Supreme Court. The sessions are public except for hearings in camera ex officio, or if requested by the Attorney General.

Publications (yearly reports, reviews...)

Half-yearly bulletin containing the judgments of the Court; the publication has been interrupted for several years but it has started again.
Yearly activity report.

2. Jurisdictional attributions and advice

2.1. Court functions

Jursidiction :

Administrative disputes: recourse for action ultra vires, recourse for interpretation and appreciation of legality, litigations concerning full contentious matters implicating a public law corporation, litigations concerning local elections.

Organisation of the courts system :

he Administrative Chamber is the ordinary judge in first and last instance for administrative matters.

It is judge of appeal of all decisions taken in first resort by administrative bodies having a jurisdictional function. These very rulings of the Administrative Chamber may be reviewed ("cassation") by the plenary Assembly of the Supreme Court.

Powers of the judges (annulment, reversal, compensation, ...)

The decisions of the Court are not subject to any challenge. They are compulsory towards the executive, the legislature and the judiciary.

2.2. Advisory functions

Existence and extent of an advisory authority

According to article 132 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court is consulted by the Government generally on every administrative and jurisdictional matter.

The Supreme Court can be charged, on the request of the Head of State, with the drafting or the amending of any legislative text or regulation before their discussion by the National Assembly. The advices are not public and they are not binding on the administrative authority.