Congo, Republic of the

This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Republic of the Congo.

The Republic of the Congo (sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville) became independent from France on 15 August 1960. The People's Republic of the Congo was a Marxist-Leninist single-party state from 1970 to 1991. Marxism was abandoned and a democratically elected government took office in 1992.

A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, who remains President, and lead to a period of ethnic and political unrest. Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003, but the calm is tenuous and refugees continue to present a humanitarian crisis.

The Republic of the Congo has a mixed legal system of French civil law and customary law.

The Republic of the Congo has a constitution dating from 1992.