AFRICAN CONSTITUTIONAL CHRONICLES

The constitutional law of African States is two-sided, that is to say, two sides: there is one side of the mind, that of the written word, and another side of the eye, that of practice. Thus, understanding the legal phenomenon in these States necessarily requires an all-encompassing analysis of theory and practice. Such an approach does not lead us to totally disqualify Hans Kelsen's normativist approach, but to make it secular. From now on, with our doctrine, we can speak of a "secularized normativism" because according to this new approach, constitutional law, while studying norms, must necessarily cooperate with other complementary disciplines such as sociology, political science, anthropology and many others. More specifically, this essay attempts to demonstrate that in Africa, certain constitutional practices are stubborn because they are driven out the door through the law (in the broadest sense), they enter through the window.