Le statut de l’enfant dans l’Océan indien : l’enfant mahorais

Abstract

Historically and geographically attached to the Comores archipelago, Mayotte constitutes an integral part of the French Republic. Its hybrid status allows for the coexistence of those subject to the civil common law and those who, in conformity with article 75 of the Constitution, chose to remain subject to local law. Thus, a large part of the Mahorais is under the jurisdiction of very specific rules, mixed with local customs and Muslim law, the application of which is normally enforced by Muslim traditional courts. The Mahorais children, being particularly affected by the issue of personal status (filiation, parental authority, marriage, name, succession…) are the first to experience the impact of discrepancies resulting from this anomalous situation, where secular rules of the French Republic, African and Malagasy customs as well as local Koranic law are found, often in conflicting relations. A further challenge is posed by the very numerous foreign young population which has settled in the archipelago, and by the pressure placed on the Mahorais youth to adapt to the demands of modernity. The study of the civil and criminal status of the Mahorais child thus reveals the issues at stake which would be posed with the transition of Mayotte into a French Department.