Database

Browse Database

MAURITANIA

N/A

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Sub-pillar Safe harbour for intermediaries for any activity other than copyright infringement
Lack of intermediary liability framework in place beyond copyright infringements
A basic legal framework on intermediary liability beyond copyright infringement is absent in Mauritania's law and jurisprudence.
Coverage Internet intermediaries

MAURITANIA

Reported in 2021, last reported in 2023

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Sub-pillar User identity requirement
Mandatory SIM card registration
It is reported that Mauritania imposes an identity requirement for SIM registration. Anyone wanting to purchase a SIM card has to provide their national ID card or a passport in case of foreigners to activate a new prepaid SIM card.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

MAURITANIA

Reported in 2024

Pillar Content access  |  Sub-pillar Presence of Internet shutdowns
Presence of Internet shutdowns
The indicator "6.2.4 - Government Internet shut down in practice" of the V-Dem Dataset, which measures whether the government has the technical capacity to actively make internet service cease, thus interrupting domestic access to the internet or whether the government has decided to do so, has a score of 3 in Mauritania for the year 2023. This corresponds to "Rarely but there have been a few occasions throughout the year when the government shut down domestic access to Internet."
Coverage Horizontal
"SELECT DISTINCT(post_id) FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'score' AND\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'country' AND meta_value = 'MR')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAND (\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.1') OR\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.2') OR\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.3')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t)"
[{"post_id":"70229"},{"post_id":"70230"},{"post_id":"70231"}]
"SELECT meta_value FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'impact' AND\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'country' AND meta_value = 'MR')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAND (\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.1') OR\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.2')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t)"
"SELECT meta_value FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'score' AND\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'country' AND meta_value = 'MR')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAND (\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.3')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t)"
ITA: [{"meta_value":"1.00"}]

MAURITANIA

ITA signatory? I II

Pillar Tariffs and trade defence measures applied on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) goods  |  Sub-pillar Effective tariff rate on ICT goods (applied weighted average)
Effective tariff rate to ICT goods (applied weighted average)
12.70%
Coverage rate of zero-tariffs on ICT goods (%)
0.83%
Coverage: Digital goods

MAURITANIA

N/A

Pillar Tariffs and trade defence measures applied on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) goods  |  Sub-pillar Participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and 2015 expansion (ITA II)
Lack of participation in the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and in ITA Expansion Agreement (ITA II)
Mauritania is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II).
Coverage ICT goods

MAURITANIA

Since December 2021
Since June 2022

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Sub-pillar Other limitations on foreign participation in public procurement
Law No. 2021-024 repealing and replacing Law No. 2010-044 of 22 July 2010 on the Public Procurement Code. (Loi No. 2021-024 abrogeant et remplaçant la loi No. 2010-044 du 22 juillet 2010 portant code des marchés publics)

Decree No. 2022-083 of 8 June 2022 implementing Law No. 2021-024 of 29 December 2021 repealing and replacing Law No. 2010-044 of 22 July 2010 on the Public Procurement Code (Décret No. 2022-083 du 8 juin 2022 portant application de la loi No. 2021-024 du 29 décembre 2021 abrogeant et remplaçant la loi No. 2010-044 du 22 juillet 2010 portant Code des marchés publics)
Art. 38 of Law No. 2021-024 provides that, when awarding a contract, and in order to encourage the participation of national companies, a preference is given to the bid that is submitted by a Mauritanian bidder and complies with the tender documents. Similarly, incentives shall be fixed by regulation in favour of tenderers established in the country's interior. Art. 39 states that the preference must be quantified in the tender documents as a percentage of the amount of the tender up to 15% of the amount of the contract. National preference is explained in more detail in Art. 58 of Decree No. 2022-083 implementing Law No. 2021-024.
Coverage Horizontal

MAURITANIA

Since December 2021

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Sub-pillar Other limitations on foreign participation in public procurement
Law No. 2021-024 repealing and replacing Law No. 2010-044 of 22 July 2010 on the Public Procurement Code. (Loi No. 2021-024 abrogeant et remplaçant la loi No. 2010-044 du 22 juillet 2010 portant code des marchés publics)
Art. 32 of Law No. 2021-024 provides that, in order to encourage the participation of social economy players such as associations, workers' or craftsmen's cooperatives, Economic Interest Groupings and social enterprises, or SMEs, particularly those employing disabled people, unqualified young people or women, the contracting authority may reserve for them access to small contracts for works, supplies or non-intellectual services.
Coverage Horizontal

MAURITANIA

N/A

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Sub-pillar Signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) with coverage of the most relevant services sectors (CPC 752, 754, 84)
Lack of participation in the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA)
Mauritania is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), nor does it have observer status.
Coverage Horizontal

MAURITANIA

Since July 2012

Pillar Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in sectors relevant to digital trade  |  Sub-pillar Maximum foreign equity share
Law No. 2012-052 on the Investment Code (Loi No. 2012-052 portant code des investissements)
According to Art. 2 of Law No. 2012-052 on the Investment Code, the law shall encourage direct investment of domestic and foreign capitals, ensuring such investment and facilitating the related administrative procedures.
Coverage Horizontal

MAURITANIA

Reported in 2018, last reported in 2023

Pillar Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in sectors relevant to digital trade  |  Sub-pillar Screening of investment and acquisitions
Screening of investment
It is reported that the government of Mauritania performs mandatory screening of foreign investments.
Coverage Horizontal

MAURITANIA

Since February 1999, entry into force in February 2002, last amended in December 2015
Since December 2019, entry into force in March 2020

Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)  |  Sub-pillar Practical or legal restrictions related to the application process for patents
Bangui Agreement Relating to the Creation of an African Intellectual Property Organization, Constituting a Revision of the Agreement Relating to the Creation of an African and Malagasy Office of Industrial Property (Bangui (Central African Republic), 2 March 1977) (Accord de Bangui relatif à la création d'une organization Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle, constituant révision de l'Accord relatif à la création d'un Office Africain et Malgache de la Propriété Industrielle (Bangui (République centrafricaine), le 2 mars 1977)

Regulations on the profession of Authorised Agent before the African Intellectual Property Organization (Règlement sur la profession de Mandataire agréé auprès de l'organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle)
According to the Bangui Agreement, ratified by 17 French-speaking States, including Mauritania, applicants resident outside the territory of the Member States must file through an agent selected in one of those Member States (Section III, Art. 8). The professional status of agent accredited to the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) is governed by the Regulations on the profession of Authorised Agent before the OAPI.
Coverage Horizontal

MAURITANIA

Since April 1983

Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)  |  Sub-pillar Participation in the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Mauritania is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
Coverage Horizontal

MAURITANIA

Since July 2012
Since March 1977, as amended in December 2015, entry into force in November 2020

Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)  |  Sub-pillar Copyright law with clear exceptions
Law No. 2012-038 on to Literary and Artistic Property (Loi No. 2012-038 relative à la propriété littéraire et artistique)

Bangui Agreement Relating to the Creation of an African Intellectual Property Organization, Constituting a Revision of the Agreement Relating to the Creation of an African and Malagasy Office of Industrial Property (Bangui (Central African Republic), 2 March 1977) (Accord de Bangui relatif à la création d'une organization Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle, constituant révision de l'Accord relatif à la création d'un Office Africain et Malgache de la Propriété Industrielle (Bangui (République centrafricaine), le 2 mars 1977)
Law No. 2012-038 provides a clear regime of copyright exceptions, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission (Arts. 30-52). The regime follows the fair use model. In addition, the Revised Bangui Agreement, which is a regional intellectual property law that is not only a regional convention applicable in all member states but also serves as a national intellectual property law in Mauritania and each of the other member states, contains provisions on copyright in Annex VII: Chapter IV (Limitations to Economic Rights). Although the Agreement establishes a set of copyright exceptions, these do not adhere to the fair use or fair dealing models.
Coverage Horizontal

MAURITANIA

N/A

Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)  |  Sub-pillar Adoption of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty
Lack of signature of the WIPO Copyright Treaty
Mauritania has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.
Coverage Horizontal

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