Professions libérales et production du service public

Abstract

This paper describes Beninese public notaries’ professional trajectories, their social status, and their role in enforcing court decisions. It examines how the profession developed post-independence, and analyzes current practices, based on inheritance cases. This paper also tackles the widespread dislike for public notaries in Cotonou. Drawing from the anthropology of African public services, it delves into public notaries’ relationship with litigants when court decisions have to be enforced. The paper shows the role of liberal professions in the production of “the state” and its public services, and ultimately challenges the idea that African public services mainly work on the basis of informal dynamics.

Keywords

• public notaries
• liberal professions
• public services in Africa
• African courts
• enforcement
• inheritance