Not in accordance with the Constitution. This is the verdict of the High Constitutional Court (HCC) regarding the constitutionality review of the law on the policy of the use of the Malagasy language and language rights in Madagascar, which was adopted by the National Assembly on July 1st.
In its decision published yesterday, the Ambohidahy-based institution acknowledged that the aforementioned law aims to promote the Malagasy language, described as the “pillar of Malagasy originality.” The popularization of the use of Malagasy in administration and official communications is also among its objectives, as is enabling all Malagasy people to be informed about matters concerning them and to understand various job offers.
However, the HCC based its decision to invalidate the law on the final line of Article 4 of the Constitution, which states that “the official languages are Malagasy and French.” According to the Court, this provision does not differentiate between the two languages and authorizes a free choice between them for education and official practices in Madagascar.
By highlighting the provisions in Article 6 and the paragraphs of Article 13 of the law on the policy of the use of the Malagasy language, the Court in Ambohidahy considers that “these articles impose an obligation to use the Malagasy language in education, training, relations between citizens, and state communications. Such an obligation is in manifest contradiction with the free choice established by Article 4 of the Constitution.”
The HCC also flagged Article 28 of the law. As noted by the institution, this provision “imposes the application of administrative or disciplinary sanctions provided by various authority structures in case of non-compliance with any of its articles.” Therefore, the Court ruled that it “violates the free choice established by Article 4 of the Constitution mentioned above; and that the said article is thus in contradiction with the fundamental law.”
Captured & Published at: 2026-08-22 05:39:13 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/08/controle-de-constitutionnalite-la-hcc.html