(2005-06) Decree on the Organization of the Central State Administration
Summary — Signed by Provisional President Boniface Alexandre and published as a special edition of Le Moniteur (No. 6, 20 July 2005), this foundational decree organizes Haiti's central state administration, distinguishing Executive-branch organs from deconcentrated and decentralized services, and structuring the Presidency and the Primature. It was later amended by a January 2016 decree also in this batch.
Key Findings
- Harmonizes the 1982 administrative-organization law with the 1987 Constitution's separation of the Presidency and a Prime-Minister-led Government.
- Defines the Administration Publique Nationale as State Administration plus Territorial Collectivity Administration, with deconcentration as the general organizing rule.
- Structures the Central Administration into four components: Executive organs, technically deconcentrated services, territorially deconcentrated services, and decentralized public establishments.
- Organizes the Presidency (Secrétariat Privé, Cabinet, Secrétariat Général) and the Primature in parallel, with the PM's Secrétariat Général doubling as Secrétariat Général of the Council of Ministers.
- Lists the Prime Minister's six administrative powers as head of government: nomination, discipline, management, instruction, reform and regulation; this decree was amended by a January 2016 decree also in this batch.
Full Description
This foundational decree, published as a special edition of Le Moniteur (No. 6, 160e Année) on 20 July 2005, harmonizes the 6 September 1982 law with the 1987 Constitution's separation of an Executive composed of a President (Head of State) and a Government led by a Prime Minister. It defines the Administration Publique Nationale as comprising State Administration (central administration, the judiciary, the legislature, and independent institutions) and Territorial Collectivity Administration, with deconcentration set as the general rule for distributing competencies and resources between echelons.
The decree structures the Central Administration into four components: Executive Branch organs (Presidency, Primature, Council of Ministers, Ministries), technically deconcentrated services, territorially deconcentrated services, and technically decentralized services (autonomous public establishments). It organizes the Presidency into a Secrétariat Privé (handling the President's administrative affairs), an advisory Cabinet, and a Secrétariat Général responsible for administrative/financial management, archives, and depositing official texts for publication in Le Moniteur. It organizes the Primature in parallel, with the Secrétariat Général du Premier Ministre also serving as Secrétariat Général of the Council of Ministers, and lists the Prime Minister's six administrative powers as head of government: nomination, discipline, management, instruction, reform (réformation) and regulation. This decree was later amended by a January 2016 decree, also part of this batch, which redefines its Article 23 and related provisions.