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VUB CASE: Legal status in the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo (1885-1960)



Manon Hofströssler

1. At the start of this year’s EUTOPIA CoLeCo experience, Professor Dhondt invited all the participating students from the VUB Delegation to come together, in order to discuss possible topics for this year’s CoLeCo research. Professor Dhondt talked about many interesting pathways and took the time to listen to our suggestions, to then narrow down the possibilities, based on our individual interests.

When Professor Dhondt mentioned the possibility to conduct research about Belgium’s colonial history, which could then run a parallel track with Professor Cristina Nogueira da Silva’s research, I was instantly intrigued. I had always been interested in learning more about Belgian’s colonial history and obtaining a better understanding of the impact of Belgium’s presence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In the following months, Professor Dhondt offered me excellent guidance in delineating the topic of my research, which would become “Legal status in the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo (1885-1960)”. Hereby, I want to take the opportunity to thank Professor Dhondt for giving me the opportunity to work on this CoLeCo and for his suggestions and assistance, which allowed me to refine the research, every step of the way.

Additionally, I greatly appreciate the recommendations (both substantively and literature wise), made by Doctor Elisabeth Bruyère and Professor Cristina Nogueira da Silva, leading up to and during the Peak Event. I have learnt tremendously from these experts in European colonial legal history.

1. Introduction to the subject

1.1. The colonial history in Congo Free State and Belgian Congo

2. In 1884-1885 the Berlin Conference, also known as the Congo Conference, took place amongst European states (Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, the German Empire, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden-Norway) as well as the United States of America, the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, to determine the (colonial) future of what is currently known as the Democratic Republic of Congo. (1) This conference took place in the bigger framework of the so-called Scramble for Africa where European powers agreed on their mutual zones of influence and partitioned most of the remaining part of the continent among them. (2)

3. The status of the Congolese territory was fairly atypical, as it was not annexed by another country as a colony but was rather controlled by King Leopold II of the Belgians (1835-1909), who had been lobbying and building on economic endeavours in the region, throughout the preceding years. (3) Historians agree that Leopold II’s rule in Congo (then named the “Congo Free State”) was marked by atrocities, submitting the local population to extreme manual labour and physical mutilation, if met with disobedience, mainly to exploit the rubber resources in Congo. (4)
By the end of King Leopold II’s reign, the atrocities in the Congolese territory had become known to the general public in Europe, who greatly disapproved of the existing practice. (5) On 15 November 1908 the Belgian State took over from its King. The Congo Free State would be dissolved and replaced by a colony, named “Belgian Congo”. (6)

4. The colonial hold of Belgium in Congo remained until 1960 but Belgium’s power significantly started to weaken during the last fifteen years before the independence, as was a common phenomenon in the European colonies in Africa, all throughout the post-war era. (7)

5. As will be discussed further on, this post-colonial era also gave rise to an increase of Congolese people, recognised as belonging to the social status of “évolués” (infra). Such people, who generally had enjoyed more education than the mean population, would start formulating Congolese-nationalistic demands and slowly but steadily initiate a movement towards Congolese independence. (8) Although it would be interesting to conduct further research on the impact of those considered évolués/immatriculés on the Congolese independence movement, this contribution will be limited in scope towards the technicalities and requirements of the status of immatriculé.

SOHIER, A., Droit Civil du Congo Belge, vol. 1, Brussels, Larcier, 1956, 672 p.

1.2. Elite status

6. During the colonisation period of the current Democratic Republic of Congo, around the late 1940s – early 1950s, the term “évolués” became popularised. The term refers to a type of elite layer of the Congolese population, which enjoyed certain privileges, in comparison to the gross Congolese population.
Despite dating back to the Congo Free State regime, the status was never very effective, until when it regained traction, in the aftermath of the Second World War.
The word “évolués” in French means, the “evolved” and, was thus used by Belgians to describe the Congolese people that they believed would be more evolved and developed, in comparison to the mean Congolese population. This elite class was initially put in place to facilitate the communication between the Belgian administration and the Congolese people.
This elite group was quite limited in number, counting around 50.000 members by 1957, out of a population of 13 million. It consisted out of people with professions such as medical assistant, nurse or clerk.

A man who obtained the immatriculé status, in his house with his family.

1.3. Formalised in legislation

7. In 1892 the status of évolué was granted a formal dimension, by being incorporated in the colonial legislation of the Congo Free State. A 1892 decree stated that individuals who obtained from the public authority their registration (“immatriculation” in French) in the registers of the “civilised” population, (9) would enjoy all the civil rights, recognised by the non-indigenous legislation. The term “immatriculé” was thus born to name the legal status that indigenous people could acquire, once they were considered sufficiently évolué/civilised.
While évolués was a commonly used term for Congolese people who have enjoyed education, in order to be granted the status of immatriculé, one would have to achieve a high level of assimilation to Belgian customs, language, religion and lifestyle. (10)

Written legislation versus customary law

One of the most fundamental consequences of being granted the status of immatriculé lies in the applicable law. People with the immatriculé status are governed by the written colonial legislation – which is deemed in line with their degree of “civilisation” – and no longer by the customary laws of the region.

Hereto article 4 of the Colonial Charter states the following:

“The Belgians, the immatriculated Congolese in the colony and the foreigners enjoy all their civil rights, recognised by the legislation of Belgian Congo. Their personal status is governed by their national laws, so long as they are not contrary to the public order. The non-immatriculated indigenous people of Belgian Congo enjoy the civil rights that are recognised for them, by the colonial legislation and by their customs, so long as they are not contrary to the legislation, nor to the public order. The not immatriculated indigenous people of neighbouring countries are treated the same.”. (12)

8. The concept was not exclusive to the Belgian colonial regime but was used throughout the European colonies in the African continent. (13) Parallel to the Belgian concept of évolués or immatriculés (infra) existed the assimilados system in the Portuguese colonies (14) or the évolués system under the indigénat in the French colonies (15) in Africa.
All three of these concepts fit within the framework of the “standard of civilisation”. These elite statuses are prime examples of the imperial idea that presumed superiority of European culture and morality was a sound basis to justify expanding European influence through colonisation, in order to “civilise” the rest of the world. (16)

9. Through receiving colonial schooling and subsequently obtaining the elite status, the colonized people could acquire higher social standing and enjoy the privileges that came with the status. (17)

10. The purpose of this research is to delve deeper into the technical aspect of the elite status of évolué/immatriculé in Congo Free State and Belgian Congo, to uncover how the status was obtained and which privileges came with the status. In order to do this, I will start from a case-study and tie this practical example into the more theoretical aspects of identifying the status. At the end, I will briefly mention two comparable regimes in French and Portuguese colonial law.

2. Case study

2.1. Framework of the judgement

11. For this case study, I have made use of a 1955 judgment from the Court of Appeal of Elisabethville (Cour d’appel d’Elisabethville) (18), as published in the in the Revue juridique du Congo belge. The judgement covers the conditions to be met, when applying for the status of immatriculé.

In addition to the judgement, the publication in the Revue juridique du Congo belge also includes an observatory note (note d’observations), referring to an assessment, made by the Colonial Council, regarding the interpretation of the “décret sur l’immatriculation” (immatriculation decree). This will in turn allow to dig even deeper into the assessment that was made, when deciding upon the status of immatriculé.

Court of Appeal Elisabethville 3 May 1955, Revue juridique du Congo belge 1955, 258.

Immatriculation decree

Legal status of a decree

As previously mentioned, Congo Free State was not governed by Belgium as a colony but by King Leopold II of the Belgians. (19) Consequently, all political, administrative and judicial powers were exercised by the “King-Sovereign”, who was deemed the only source of legitimacy and legality during the existence of Congo Free State, from 1885 through 1908. (21) King Leopold II exercised these excessive powers through decrees of the King-Sovereign (“décrets du Roi Souverain”). (22)

During the colonial era (1908-1960) decrees were also instruments with force of law, by the King’s design. (23) A keynote here is, however, that, unlike during the regime of Leopold II, the King’s powers were not absolute, but subject to parliamentary oversight, as the principles of ministerial responsibility and counterseign in the Belgian 1831 constitution tied executive action to control by the elected representatives of the Belgian Nation, and thus also of public opinion, through the press. (24)

1948 Ordonnance and 1952 Décret

The 1952 decree exists besides a 1948 ordonnance (24) which linked obtaining a certain degree of “civilisation” to being permitted to (successfully) apply for a card of civil merit (“carte de mérite civique”). This card may be seen as a special identification card, implemented in colonized Congo and the mandate area Rwanda-Urundi (which Belgium acquired through the League of Nations' trustee or mandate system, and became a colony from 1926 on). (25)
The 1952 immatriculation decree used a similar instrument to grant the status of immatriculé, which was named the immatriculation card (“carte d’immatriculation”).
Thereto important differences are that
1) immatriculation is a hereditary title, whereas the card of civil merit is granted intuitu personae;
2) immatriculation gave rise to the applicability of European civil law, which the card of civil merit did not and;
3) immatriculation is targeted towards complete assimilation, whereas the card of civil merit only implies certain benefits, such as benefits on the job market and in real estate. (26)

Substantive requirements for immatriculation

There were three substantive requirements to obtain the status of immatriculé, namely:
1) Be Congolese:
this entails that the applicant should have been born in the Congolese territory and be indigenously from this territory; (27)
2) Have reached the legal age, indicated by the Congolese Civil Code:
Maurice VERSTRAETE (1891-1961, Professor at the Université coloniale, judge in the Tribunal of First Instance of Elisabethville in the interbellum; prosecutor (Procureur du Roi and judge in Antwerp from 1925 on) argus that this requirement is meant to ensure that the applicant’s maturity is not isolated from his life experience; (28)
3) Justify one’s ability to enjoy the rights and fulfil the duties of the written law, given their way of life and state of civilisation:
this last requirement will be elaborated upon, in the further narration of the Elisabethville judgement. (29)

2.2. Preceding the appeal

12. The Court of Appeal judgement of May 3rd, 1955 is preceded by a judgement from the Elisabethville Tribunal of First Instance, from earlier that year. The judgement in first instance concerns the request for immatriculation by K. PAUL (applicant).
K. PAUL’s request for immatriculation was not met in first instance, due to the unsubstantiality of the request, on the basis that the request is not “justified by his [the applicant’s] education and way of life, by a state of civilization, implying the ability to enjoy the rights, to fulfil the duties, provided for by written legislation”. (30)

13. An immatriculation request – which is introduced through petitioning the president of the tribunal of the applicant’s residence – must i.a. be joined by certificate for “good” life and beliefs as well as an attestation of family situation, both issued by the territorial authority. (31)
The request for immatriculation was thus denied, because the applicant was not deemed eligible to meet the rights and duties of the so-called “written legislation”, based on his level of education, way of life and the extent to which he was “civilised”.
The status would indeed prove difficult to obtain, seeing that only 217 immatriculation cards were awarded by 1958, near the end of the colonial regime.

2.3. Factual findings of the case

14. When looking into the substantial grounds of the request for immatriculation, the Court of Appeal starts by stating that it agrees with the Tribunal of First Instance, in the sense that the applicant does not meet the eligibility criteria and adds to that by going in more detail about the applicant’s intellectual formation and his way of life.
Education requirements
The colonial settlers believed that the way to obtain the moral and spiritual means, to match the required level of “civilisation” was through education. This requirement was meant to ensure that the applicant’s education would allow him to understand and observe the “civilised” legislation, expressed by the Civil Code. (32)
15. The Court states that the applicant has enjoyed rudimentary secondary schooling but mostly deems his way of life insufficient. Although the applicant had previously contracted both a civil and religious marriage, at the time of the request for immatriculation, he was joined in a marriage, that was in conformity with the local customs. The marriage under customary law had begun before the applicant had divorced his previous spouse, whom he had wed under (written) civil law. The couple, wed under the customary law regime, also had seven or eight children together. (33)
Marriage requirements and the prohibition on polygamy
The prohibition on polygamy is elaborated upon in civil law but finds its basis in article 5 of the Colonial Charter. (34) The Charter instructs the general governor of Belgian Congo to progressively abandon polygamy. This is because the Belgian colonisers were convinced that monogamy is the primary form of marriage and that polygamy is but a “deformation of primitive custom”. (35) Consequently the marriage requirements of immatriculation frame in the Belgian pursuit of promoting the “European” notion of marriage in the Congolese territory. (36)

2.4. Judgement

16. Adultery and polygamy were not deemed compatible with the acquisition of the state of immatriculé. By consequence, the applicant’s marriage under customary law and the children that followed from said marriage, were deemed contrary to the written law and seen as a basis to deny the applicant his request for immatriculation.
Therefore, the Court finds that the regime of written legislation does not seem to be appropriate, given the applicant’s “state of civilisation”. The Court of Appeal thus confirms the judgement, previously made by the Tribunal of First Instance and holds that the applicant is not entitled to the status of immatriculé.
Examen du projet de décret assimilant les indigènes du Ruanda-Urundi immatriculés, en application du décret du 17 mai 1952, aux non-indigènes en ce qui concerne la majoration des amendes pénales, Preparatory Work Colonial Council 1955, 25 February 1955, Brussels, Imprimerie A. Lesigne, 382-388.

2.5. Observatory note

17. The observatory notes in the Revue juridique du Congo belge refer to a session of the Colonial Council on February 25th, 1955. During this session, the members of the Council discuss the way that the Immatriculation Decree is interpreted.

18. Vice president of the Legislative Council of Belgian Congo Octave LOUWERS (1878-1959) is the primary actor in this discussion, by putting emphasis on what he claims to be the real significance of immatriculation. (36) LOUWERS states certain people falsely believe that immatriculation should be seen as social advantage, as a reward for most deserving of the title, on the basis of their behaviour. (37)
LOUWERS himself however, considers the status as a measure, imposed on indigenous Congolese people, once they have acquired a social and economic position in society, which fully detaches them from the local customary law. He believes that those people require a new legal status, which is offered through the status of immatriculé.
Colonial Council member Antoine SOHIER (1885-1963; first president of the Belgian Court of Cassation from 1960 on) responds to the Vice President’s statement, by expressing his opinion on the matter, namely that such an interpretation, as made by Vice President LOUWERS would be too extensive. He believes that cutting loose from the local customs may not suffice to apply the status of immatriculé but instead, that the person in question must actually be “westernised” (“occidentalisé”).
In response to SOHIER’s statement, Vice President LOUWERS clarifies that his interpretation of the status is less broad then perceived by SOHIER. This time LOUWERS uses the example of big negotiators and important entrepreneurs, whose actions, activities and social life, at large cannot be regulated by customary law – according to him. It is for such people, that LOUWERS urges the status of immatriculé is required.
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Raison d'être for status of immatriculés/évolués
In 1950, a bill was introduced which would lay the foundation for the 1952 decree, that was discussed earlier. A 1951 publication in the Æquatoria, by BOEIAERT summarises the preparatory work, preceding the adoption of the decree, which sheds some light on the raison d’être of the decree.
BOEIAERT states that the AIMO (38) urges that an elite layer of the Congolese population has developed the profound desire to no longer be submitted to the customary regime, but instead be governed by legislation that appropriately matches their situation. In essence, immatriculation frames within the colonial desire for full assimilation of the indigenous people. 
What are the benefits for the applicant? 
During the EUTOPIA Peak Event the question was raised why applicants would want to obtain the status of immatriculé. I thought this was a very interesting question because it is indeed so that the applicant would have to neglect many of the things they are accustomed to, to obtain seemingly little in return.
However, in practice, access to such places would often be denied and discrimination towards the indigenous population did not spare the people with the immatriculé status. In actuality, no equality between them and the Belgian colonisers existed.
Consequently, certain people who obtained the status, shortly after the reform in the early 1950’s, renounced the mode of assimilation and the accompanying classicism quickly and encouraged others to carry forward the Congolese customs and its individuality. For example, Patrice LUMUMBA, the first Congolese prime minister after the independence, obtained the immatriculé status in 1953 but went on to criticise the underlying idea of assimilation of the status.

Prime Minister LUMUMBA

19. The editor of the Revue juridique du Congo belge notes that LOUWERS’s approach to the matter is consistently followed by the Elisabethville Court of Appeal. Rather than approaching immatriculation as the product of a successful assimilation exercise to a European manner of living, this approach states that the European manner of living is not the only way to become “civilised”. (39)
One can nonetheless raise the question how legitimate this reasoning is. It is apparent that the system of immatriculation implies a conferral of the elite immatriculé status onto people who live their live, in accordance with a notion of civilisation, which is entirely dictated by the Belgian (European) settlers.
Even if the cases where immatriculation was acquired, did not require a full assimilation to a European notion of civilisation, the required level of “civilisation” of the applicant, was undoubtedly modelled on a European notion of civilisation.

3. European context

3.1. Context of "civilisation mission"

20. As previously touched upon, the underlying concept of identifying a civilised group amongst colonised people was not exclusive to the Belgian colonial history in Congo but was part of a much bigger European framework. This framework of the “civilising mission” or “mission civilisatrice” (mostly used for the French colonial endeavours) entailed that European settlers and missionaries would bring civilisation to the deemed as inferior colonies in Africa. (40) This mission to “civilise” implied, as presented in the case-study, the transferral of the European culture and the language of the colonising power.
This imperialistic civilisation campaign played a part in obscuring the actual economic and political motives to take control of territories in the African continent. (41)

How to decide who was "civilised"?
In order to decide who was deemed sufficiently “civilised” to obtain the status of immatriculé, applicants had to undergo a thorough screening process, which included home inspections and questions regarding hygiene.
JOSEPH MABOLIA narrates that, in order to determine who could be qualified as immatriculé, house-searches would be frequented as follows:
“They [the Belgian colonizers] would come into your house to see if you had armchairs, if you had a bed, if you knew how to hold a fork, if your children wore underwear and shoes. They would examine the interior of your home”. (42)
Upon a successful screening process, one could acquire a certificate of good life and morals (“un certificat de bonnes vie et mœurs”) from the territorial authority, which was an administrative requirement to obtain immatriculation. (43)

3.2. Comparable concepts of the évolués and the assimilados regimes

21. Given the bigger framework of EUTopia’s theme of Connectedness, I thought it would be interesting to briefly shed some light on some comparable regimes to the status of évolué/immatriculé in colonised Congo. Hereto, I have chosen to focus on two colonial regimes: namely, the French status of évolués, and the Portuguese status of assimilados.

3.2.1. Assimilados regime in the Portuguese colonies

22. The Portuguese colonies in Africa were perceived as provinces, thus integrally being a part of the Portuguese State, which in turn left no possibility to gain citizenship of the territory, as it was not recognized to dispose of a national identity. (44)
The mean population in the Portuguese colonies (such as Angola and Mozambique) were placed in a legally ambiguous category, as they were seen as neither e.g. Angolan or Mozambican citizens, nor as Portuguese citizens. (45) These indigenous people were called indigenas, in contrast to the assimilados, which were indigenous people who had obtained Portuguese citizenship, by means of an award of a successful civilisation or assimilation process. (46)

23. To obtain this (formal) equality to the Portuguese settlers, the colonised people had to swear loyalty to the Portuguese colonial state, speak only Portuguese at home, have a Portuguese official vouch for their character, develop “European” habits and in turn abandon certain local beliefs. (47)
Obtaining the status of assimilado came with substantial privileges in comparison to the mean population, such as being exempt from forced labour and being granted the right to vote in local elections. (48)

3.2.2. Évolués regime in the French indigénat

24. The French indigénat was a body of law, which comprised neither indigenous law, nor French law. (49) It was the body of law that the French colonisers used when justifying their colonial expansion, within the bigger framework of the “mission civilisatrice”. (50)
Throughout the French colonies in Africa there did appear to be differences in i.a. the practical use and consequences of the évolués regime. (51) After all, the French colonial presence in Africa spanned out over far more territories than those governed by the Belgian and even the Portuguese colonisers. (52) 

25. In the French colonies, those who adopted a “European” way of life, would be considered “évolués”. Much like in the Belgian system, (Western) education would play a part in accessing the elite status. (53)

26. As opposed to the gross indigenous population of the French African colonies, the people who were considered évolués, would be subject to common French law, instead of being governed by local customary law. Those considered the most evolved (“plus évolués”/“notable évolués”) of the indigenous people were granted voting rights in local elections and could no longer be punished by the rules of the indigénat. (54)

4. Conclusion

27. Obtaining the status of immatriculé was not an easy exercise, in practice. The low number of cases where the status was actually obtained, are a testament thereto.
Two possible explanations might be that the benefits of acquiring the status did not outweigh the negatives for many individuals and that the set-out requirements were difficult to fulfil.
As previously mentioned, the main consequence of acquiring the immatriculé status was that the person in question would be subject to the written law. Benefits theoretically included access to spaces, which were usually designated to Europeans, although such benefits were often not granted, in practice.
Under the presumption that it was practically feasible and sufficiently accessible for a person to pursue the immatriculé status, an applicant would have to abandon their cultural identity, in order to adopt an identity, modelled on the European notion of “civilisation”.
In this light, I would like to conclude this blogpost with a quote by Albert NKULI, (co-)editor of Conscience africaine and one of the people at the forefront of the Congolese independence:
“As for us, we believe that the Congolese people should keep some of their good customs, which confer on them their personality and their individuality, because Congo is completely different from Europe and the problems that present themselves here, are certainly not the same ones that present themselves in Europe. We believe that it is important to give to the Congolese the proper status that corresponds with its Bantu conception and not to model on the European scheme.”. (55)

________________________
Footnotes
(1) General Act of the Conference at Berlin 26 February 1885, 165 CTS 485.
(2) F. BUELENS, Congo 1885-1960: Een financieel-economische geschiedenis, Berchem, Epo, 2007, 35-36.
(3) Ibid., 38-41.
(4) C.-D. GONDOLA, The History of Congo, Westport – London, Greenwood Press, 2002, 64-72.
(5) Ibid., 72-73.
(6) B. J. THORPE, “Eurafrica: A Pan-European Vehicle for Central European Colonialism (1923–1939)”, European Review 2018, vol. 3, (503) 511; X, "Quelques jalons chronologiques" in I. GODDEERIS, A. LAURO and G. VANTHEMSCHE (eds.), Le Congo colonial : une histoire en questions, Brussels, Renaissance du Livre, 2020, (452) 453.
(7) C. D. GONDOLA, The History of Congo, Westport – London, Greenwood Press, 2002, 97-98.
(8) Ibid.
(9) A sidenote here is that when I talk about the immatriculation of colonised Congolese people, this concept must be differed from purely administrative registration (“immatriculation”) of non-indigenous people Europeans; Belgians coming to Congo.
See: M. VERSTRAETE, "Les Personnes et la Famille" in A. SOHIER (ed.), Droit Civil du Congo Belge, vol. 1, Brussels, Larcier, 1956, (1) 37.
(10) Y. COVINGTON-WARD, “Joseph Kasa-Vubu, ABAKO, and Performances of Kongo Nationalism in the Independence of Congo”, Journal of Black Studies 2012, vol. 43, (72) 78.
(11) M. VERSTRAETE, "Les Personnes et la Famille" in A. SOHIER (ed.), Droit Civil du Congo Belge, vol. 1, Brussels, Larcier, 1956, (1) 86-87.
(12) The above-mentioned text is an English translation of the following French quote:
“Les Belges, les Congolais immatriculés dans la colonie et les étrangers jouissent de tous les droits civils reconnus par la législation du Congo belge. Leur statut personnel est régi par leurs lois nationales en tant qu'elles ne sont pas contraires à l'ordre public. Les indigènes non immatriculés du Congo belge jouissent des droits civils qui leur sont reconnus par la législation de la colonie et par leurs coutumes en tant que celles-ci ne sont contraires ni à la législation ni à l'ordre public. Les indigènes non immatriculés des contrées voisines leur sont assimilés.”
(13) M. KAMARA, “French Colonial Education and the Making of the Francophone African Bourgeoisie”, Dalhousie French Studies 2005, vol. 72, (105) 111.
(14) C. NOGUEIRA DA SILVA, “Natives Who Were “Citizens” and Natives Who Were Indigenas in the Portuguese Empire, 1900-1926” in A. W. MCCOY, J. M. FRADERA and S. JACOBSON (eds.), Endless Empire: Spain’s Retreat, Europe’s Eclipse, America’s Decline, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, 2012, 295-305.
(15) G. MANN, “What Was the Indigénat? The ‘Empire of Law’ in French West Africa”, The Journal of African History 2009, afl. 3, 331–353.
(16) A. HERACLIDES and A. DIALLA, Humanitarian Intervention in the Long Nineteenth Century: Setting the Precedent, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2015, 31.
(17) M. KAMARA, “French Colonial Education and the Making of the Francophone African Bourgeoisie”, Dalhousie French Studies 2005, vol. 72, (105) 111.
(18) Elisabethville was the colonial name for the city that is now known as Lubumbashi.
(19) F. VUNDUAWE TE PEMAKO en J.-M. MBOKO DJ’ANDIMA, Traité de droit administratif de la République Démocratique du Congo, Brussels, Bruylant, 2020, 291.
(20) Ibid.
(21) Ibid.
(22) Ibid., 310
(23) Ibid., 304-313.
(24) Art. 22 Colonial Charter of Belgian Congo 18 October 1908, Bulletin Officiel du Congo belge 1908-1909, 65; M. VERSTRAETE, "Les Personnes et la Famille" in A. SOHIER (ed.), Droit Civil du Congo Belge, vol. 1, Brussels, Larcier, 1956, (1) 118.
Ordonnances in Belgian Congo were executive instruments, made by the governor-general, in the execution of competences, delegated to him by the King. They could exceptionally have legal force but are mostly limited to an executive nature.
(25) Rwanda-Urundi, which was made-up out of the current countries of Rwanda and Burundi, was governed by Belgium as a mandate area, in the period after the second World War.
(26) M. VERSTRAETE, "Les Personnes et la Famille" in A. SOHIER (ed.), Droit Civil du Congo Belge, vol. 1, Brussels, Larcier, 1956, (1) 125-127.
(27) Y. COVINGTON-WARD, “Joseph Kasa-Vubu, ABAKO, and Performances of Kongo Nationalism in the Independence of Congo”, Journal of Black Studies 2012, vol. 43, (72) 78.
(28) M. VERSTRAETE, "Les Personnes et la Famille" in A. SOHIER (ed.), Droit Civil du Congo Belge, vol. 1, Brussels, Larcier, 1956, (1) 92.
(29) Ibid., 91-93.
(30) Translation from the original French text, which states: “justifié par sa formation et sa manière de vivre, d’un état de civilisation impliquant l’aptitude à jouir des droits à remplir les devoirs prévus par la législation écrit”.
(31) M. VERSTRAETE, "Les Personnes et la Famille" in A. SOHIER (ed.), Droit Civil du Congo Belge, Brussels, Larcier, 1956, (1) 95.
(32) Ibid., 93.
(33) At the start of the Court of Appeal judgement, it is mentioned that there is factual uncertainty regarding the number of children that came out of the applicant’s second marriage.
(34) M. VERSTRAETE, "Les Personnes et la Famille" in A. SOHIER (ed.), Droit Civil du Congo Belge, vol. 1, Brussels, Larcier, 1956, (1) 224.
(35) Ibid., 225.
(36) Examen du projet de décret assimilant les indigènes du Ruanda-Urundi immatriculés, en application du décret du 17 mai 1952, aux non-indigènes en ce qui concerne la majoration des amendes pénales, Preparatory Work Colonial Council 1955, 25 February 1955, Brussels, Imprimerie A. Lesigne, 382-388.
(37) Ibid., 384.
(38) AIMO stands for "Affaires indigènes et Main d’œuvre", which can be translated to "Indigenous affairs and labour".
(39) M. VERSTRAETE, "Les Personnes et la Famille" in A. SOHIER (ed.), Droit Civil du Congo Belge, vol. 1, Brussels, Larcier, 1956, (1) 92.
(40) H. LIEBERSOHN, “Introduction: The Civilizing Mission”, Journal of World History 2016, vol. 3, (383) 383.
(41) H. LIEBERSOHN, “Introduction: The Civilizing Mission”, Journal of World History 2016, vol. 3, (383) 383-384.
(42) The original French text reads as followed:
“On venait chez vous voir si vous aviez des fauteuils, si vous aviez un lit, si vous saviez tenir des fourchettes, si vos enfants portaient une culotte et des chaussures. On examinait votre intérieur”.
(43) M. VERSTRAETE, "Les Personnes et la Famille" in A. SOHIER (ed.), Droit Civil du Congo Belge, vol. 1, Brussels, Larcier, 1956, (1) 95.
(44) B. T. G. CHIDZERO, “African Nationalism in East and Central Africa”, International Affairs 1960, vol. 4, (464) 468.
(45) C. NOGUEIRA DA SILVA, “Natives Who Were “Citizens” and Natives Who Were Indigenas in the Portuguese Empire, 1900-1926” in A. W. MCCOY, J. M. FRADERA and S. JACOBSON (eds.), Endless Empire: Spain’s Retreat, Europe’s Eclipse, America’s Decline, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, 2012, (295) 301.
(46) Ibid.
(47) J. SUMICH, “Modernisation Redirected: Socialism, Liberalism and the National Elite in Mozambique”, Cambridge Journal of Anthropology 2008, vol. 2, (1) 7.
(48) N. TELEPNEVA, Cold War Liberation: The Soviet Union and the Collapse of the Portuguese Empire in Africa, 1961–1975, Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 2021, 33.
(49) L. SMITH, French Colonialism: From the Ancien Régime to the Present, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023, 85.
(50) D. PORTER SANCHEZ, ““African Opinions” at the Brazzaville Conference: Evolué Politics, Representation, and the Future of French Colonialism in Africa”, History in Africa 2023, vol. 50, (126) 144.
(51) Ibid., 130-131.
(52) The French colonies in Africa (“colonies françaises d’Afrique” or “CFA”) were divided into two larger regions: French occidental Africa (“Afrique occidentale française” or “AOF”), which included countries such as Senegal, Côte-d’Ivoire and Burkina-Faso, and French equatorial Africa (“Afrique équatoriale française” or “AEF”), which included countries such as the Central African Republic, Chad and Congo-Brazzaville.
A. KOM, “Écriture, Francophonie et Identité En Afrique Subsaharienne”, Dalhousie French Studies 1996, vol. 35, (169) 169.
(53) T. A. KELLEY, “Exporting Western Law to the Developing World: The Troubling Case of Niger”, Global Jurist 2007, vol. 7(3), (1) 13.
(54) D. PORTER SANCHEZ, ““African Opinions” at the Brazzaville Conference: Evolué Politics, Representation, and the Future of French Colonialism in Africa”, History in Africa 2023, vol. 50, (126) 135.
(55) The original French text reads the following:
“Quant à nous, nous croyons que le peuple congolais devrait garder quelques-unes de ces bonnes coutumes qui lui confèrent sa personnalité et son individualité, car le Congo est tout différent de l’Europe et les problèmes qui se posent ici ne sont certes pas les mêmes qui se posent en Europe. Il importe, nous semble-t-il, de donner aux Congolais le statut propre qui répond à sa conception bantoue et non le modeler sur le schéma européen.”.

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