Legal Developments in Africa - 2011 - III. Central Africa - A. Equatorial Guinea

Parent Category: Africa

Category: Africa, Generally

Harriet O. Acheampong, et. al.

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III. Central Africa

A. Equatorial Guinea

By way of a Presidential order the legal regime for nation-wide affordable housing was created on January 24, 2011. The program is coordinated by the Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure and a state-owned real estate company, Empresa Nacional de Promocin Inmobiliaria de Guinea Ecuatorial (ENPIGE).

Law 4/2011, of July 14, which created the Constitutional Court, contains detailed rules on the jurisdiction of the court, appointment and removal of its judges, and conflicts of interests. The Constitutional Court, inter alia, hears appeals regarding the constitutionality of laws and protection of fundamental rights, rules on the constitutionality of international treaties, and settles conflicts of authority between state bodies. It has also been entrusted with the power to declare the President of the Republic or the Prime Minister physically or mentally unfit to perform their duties.

Law 3/2011, of July 14, 2011, regulates the acquisition and loss of Equatoguinean citizenship.

Under the new Law, national citizenship is determined by the parents' nationality rather than the place of birth. Naturalization is though possible for spouses of Equatoguineans or for those who are born and live in the country for a given number of consecutive years. Citizenship may also be granted by the President of the Republic to anyone who has rendered a service of particular relevance for the country.