Constitution of the Second Republic of The Gambia

DREDF makes no claims to the veracity of this law. See the full copyright / disclaimer notice. If you find a mistake, please let us know!


Section 31 and Section 33 excerpted from

Constitution of the Second Republic of The Gambia

Adopted on 8 August 1996,
entered into force in January 1997,
last amended in 2001

31. Rights of the Disabled

  1. the right of the disabled and handicapped to respect and human dignity shall be recognised by the State and society.
  2. Disabled persons shall be entitled to protection against exploitation and to protection against discrimination, in particular as regards access to health services, education and employment.
  3. In any judicial proceedings in which a disabled person is a party, the procedure shall take his or her condition into account.

33. Protection from Discrimination

  1. All persons shall be equal before the law.
  2. Subject to the provisions of subsection (5), no law shall make any provision which is discriminatory either of itself of in its effect.
  3. Subject to the provisions of subsection (5), no person shall be treated in a discriminatory manner by any person acting by virtue of any law or in the performance of the functions of any public office or any public authority.
  4. In this section, the expression “discrimination” means affording different treatment to different persons attributable wholly or mainly to their respective descriptions by race, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status whereby persons of one such description are subjected to disabilities or restrictions to which persons of another such description are not made subject, or are accorded privilege or advantages which are not accorded to persons of another such description.
  5. Subsection (2) shall not apply to any law in so far as that law makes provision-
    1. with respect to persons who are not citizens of The Gambia or to qualifications for citizenship;
    2. with respect to the qualifications prescribed by this Constitution for any office;
    3. with respect to adoption, marriage, divorce, burial, devolution of property on death or other matters of personal law;
    4. for the application in the case of members of a particular race or tribe of customary law with respect to any matter in the case of persons who, under that law, are subject to that law.
  6. (6) Subsection (3) shall not apply to anything which is expressly or by necessary implication authorised to be done by any such provision of law as is referred to in subsection (5).
  7. (7) The exercise of any discretion to the relating to the institution, conduct or discontinuance of civic or criminal proceedings in any court that is vested in any person by the Constitution or any other law shall not be enquired into by any court on the grounds that it contravenes the provisions of subsections (3).