L’adoption vaut-elle approbation ? : Un constitutionnaliste tranche le débat
The debate surrounding the revision of the Constitution is far from over in Senegal. Following statements by the President of the National Assembly, Ousmane Sonko, claiming that the adoption of a revision law by the deputies would constitute final approval, a public law expert has issued a scathing legal rebuttal.
Dr. Yaya Niang, a professor and researcher in public law at Gaston Berger University (UGB) in Saint-Louis, asserts that this interpretation is based "neither on the Constitution nor on the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Council." Relying rigorously on Article 103 of the fundamental charter and on the decisions of the highest court, he states unequivocally: "The declaration that adoption constitutes approval derives neither from the Constitution, nor from any jurisprudence."
According to the constitutional expert, the case law cited states the exact opposite of what is being argued in the National Assembly. It allows for approval to be equivalent to adoption, but only when the President of the Republic has formally decided beforehand that the amendment law will be approved solely by the National Assembly. "The reverse is not possible," he insists.
Dr. Yaya Niang concludes that no parliamentary approval can occur without a prior and explicit decision by the Head of State establishing this procedure. Equating adoption with approval would, according to him, deprive the President of the Republic of an exclusive prerogative expressly granted to him by the Constitution: the right to freely choose the method of approval (referendum or parliamentary) for a constitutional revision.
Beyond the strictly legal controversy, Dr. Yaya Niang calls for restraint and institutional cooperation in a national context increasingly marked by sharp tensions between the executive and legislative branches. In his view, "frank collaboration between institutions" remains the only legal and responsible way to guarantee a constitutional revision that complies with the requirements of the rule of law.
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