Transitional institutions

Despite the democratic changes in the early 90s, instances of disruption to the constitutional order have been widespread across the African continent. Since then, no institutional mechanism has been able to regulate this phenomenon. This article asks what happens when the Constitution is suspended, the institutions dissolved, and the political regime revoked. Two theses are usually considered: the thesis of lawlessness and the decisionist thesis. In a previous article, I formulated the hypothesis of a third way imposed by reality; an alternative constitutionalism that I theorize under the name of “transitional constitutional law.” Having already developed the normative aspect of this law, this article aims to delve beyond the question of legitimacy to analyze the legal logics of these transitional institutions.