Burkina Faso ENAM Magistrat common mistakes
Burkina Faso ENAM Magistrat · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
In the note de synthèse, the candidate copies or paraphrases the documents one after another in their original order, producing a 'collage' of the dossier instead of a structured note organised around themes with a personal, neutral introduction and conclusion.
The exercise is timed and candidates fear omitting facts, so they transcribe rather than select and reorganise; many have never practised the difference between résumé, analyse and synthèse.
What to do instead
Before writing, spend 10-15 minutes building a thematic plan from the documents (2-3 parts, each with 2 sub-parts), noting the document number beside each idea. Write the introduction last but place it first: context, problem, announced plan. In the body, never say 'selon le document 3'; attribute ideas to their source only in a footnote-style reference and merge converging points from several documents under one heading. Train weekly on a 5-document dossier with a strict 3-hour timer.
In the dissertation, the candidate writes a catalogue of everything known about the topic (e.g., all of contract law) without a problématique, and the 'plan' is a simple list of definitions or of articles of the Code.
Law school revision rewards accumulation of knowledge, and candidates transpose memorised course plans instead of answering the specific question asked.
What to do instead
Reformulate the subject as a question and write one sentence stating the tension or paradox it contains (the problématique) before drafting any plan. Test the plan by checking that part II answers a question raised by part I. Ban titles that are just 'définition', 'conditions', 'effets'; use assertive titles that state a thesis. Do at least one full dissertation per week under exam conditions and have it corrected on the plan and problématique alone.
In the commentaire d'arrêt, the candidate summarises the judgment (facts, procedure, solution) and then adds a general course on the area of law, without explaining the reasoning of the court or criticising it.
Candidates confuse commentary with summary and do not know how to identify the ratio decidendi and the legal issue decided.
What to do instead
Use a fixed grid: identify the procedural history, the parties' claims, the exact question of law, the rule applied, the reasoning, then the scope and any criticism or subsequent evolution. Structure the commentary around the court's reasoning, not around the facts. Practise on 10 short decisions, writing only the 'problème de droit' and 'portée' paragraphs each time.
In the cas pratique, the candidate gives a general theoretical answer or a single conclusion, without qualifying the facts, identifying the applicable rule, applying it to the specific facts, and announcing the outcome for each question.
The exercise requires a syllogistic method (rule, application, conclusion) that is rarely drilled, and candidates rush to the conclusion they intuit.
What to do instead
Adopt the IRAC/qualification-rule-application-conclusion structure visibly for each question, with headings. Begin each answer by qualifying the facts ('X is a consumer who concluded a distance contract with a professional'). Where facts are missing, state the alternative hypotheses and their consequences. Practise with 2-3 issue scenarios per session and have the qualification step graded separately.
The candidate cites articles of the Code or of a constitution from memory with wrong numbers, or invents article numbers, and mixes up the Civil Code of 1804 still applicable in Burkina Faso with later reforms.
Stress and the habit of learning rules without their references lead to approximate citations, and the Burkinabè legal order combines old French texts, national codes and OHADA uniform acts that candidates conflate.
What to do instead
Learn each rule together with its exact source and date (e.g., 'article 1101 du Code civil', 'article 1134 ancien', 'Acte uniforme OHADA portant organisation des sûretés'). When unsure of a number, cite the text by name and date rather than invent a number. Build a one-page reference sheet per subject with the 20 most cited provisions and revise it weekly.
In criminal law, the candidate answers a question on procedure by reciting substantive law (elements of the offence, penalties) and ignores the procedural stages: complaint, preliminary investigation, information judiciaire, jurisdiction, appeal and cassation deadlines.
Revision focuses on the general theory of the offence and penalty, while the Code de procédure pénale is long and poorly mastered; candidates also confuse the roles of the parquet, the juge d'instruction and the chambre de contrôle de l'instruction.
What to do instead
Study procedure through a chronological flowchart from the offence to final judgment, noting for each stage the competent authority, the applicable time limit and the remedy. For every case, force yourself to state the competent court and the applicable prescription period. Practise short procedural questions ('who may order a garde à vue and for how long?') with reference to the applicable Burkinabè code.
In droit public and constitutional law answers, the candidate describes the institutions (President, government, National Assembly) without analysing their powers, the hierarchy of norms, or the applicable constitutional review mechanisms, and treats the Burkinabè Constitution as a generic French-style text.
Candidates rely on general culture and media coverage of politics rather than on the text of the Constitution and organic laws, and they transpose French constitutional doctrine without checking its relevance.
What to do instead
Work directly from the text of the Constitution and the relevant organic laws, building a table of institutions with their powers, appointment modes and mutual checks. For each topic, ask 'which norm, which organ, which control?'. Include the 1991 Constitution as amended and the transitional arrangements in your revision, and verify each institutional fact against the official text rather than the press.
In OHADA company law, the candidate applies the rules of the SARL to the SA or the SAS, or describes company formation without distinguishing the different forms, their minimum capital and governance organs.
The uniform acts are dense and candidates learn general company law without a comparative table of forms, so the specific rules blur together.
What to do instead
Build a comparative grid of company forms (SARL, SA, SAS, SNC, SCS, GIE) with capital rules, organs, decision majorities, liability of managers and transfer of shares, and memorise it as a whole. In each answer, name the form expressly before applying rules. Practise by re-qualifying the same fact pattern under two different forms to see how the outcome changes.
In UEMOA/CEDEAO and international law questions, the candidate mixes up the institutions and their competences (confusing the Cour de justice de l'UEMOA with the Cour de justice de la CEDEAO, or the primacy and direct effect of community law with the effect of treaties in domestic law), and ignores the supranational character of the norms.
Regional integration law is taught briefly and candidates rely on acronyms and general impressions rather than on the founding treaties and the case law of the regional courts.
What to do instead
Make a two-column table for UEMOA and CEDEAO: founding treaty and date, institutions, competences, decision-making rules, court jurisdiction and remedies. Learn one leading decision per court on primacy or direct effect and be able to state its principle. In essays, always distinguish community law, international treaty law and domestic constitutional law before discussing their interaction.
On the organisation judiciaire and the statut de la magistrature, the candidate describes the French judicial map or the French Conseil supérieur de la magistrature instead of the Burkinabè courts, the Conseil supérieur de la magistrature and the applicable statutes and disciplinary regime.
Most available revision materials are French, and candidates transfer them without checking the Burkinabè institutional framework.
What to do instead
Revise directly from Burkinabè texts: the loi organique on the organisation judiciaire, the statute of the magistrature and the rules on the Conseil supérieur de la magistrature, drawing an organigram of jurisdictions (tribunal d'instance, tribunal de grande instance, cour d'appel, Cour de cassation, plus specialised and administrative jurisdictions) with their competences and appeal routes. For discipline, learn the stages, the competent organ and the guarantees of the judge, and test yourself on concrete scenarios.