60+ Free Djibouti OPJ Gendarmerie Practice Questions

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2026 Statistics

Key Facts: Djibouti OPJ Gendarmerie Exam

2 papers

Written examinations: a 3-hour legal essay and a 4-hour practical procedure case study

Arrêté n° 2004-0214/PR/MDN, art. 4

24 / 40

Minimum aggregate passing mark required to earn the Brevet d'OPJ

Arrêté n° 2004-0214/PR/MDN, art. 19

3 years

Minimum active service in the Gendarmerie required to sit the exam

Arrêté n° 2004-0214/PR/MDN, art. 1

48 hours

Statutory initial duration of police custody (garde à vue) in Djibouti

Loi n° 30/78 sur la garde à vue, art. 1

06:00–21:00

Statutory legal hours for residential searches and seizures

Code de procédure pénale de Djibouti, art. 53

4 attempts

Maximum lifetime attempts allowed for the OPJ technical examination

Arrêté n° 2004-0214/PR/MDN, art. 22

Djibouti's statutory Examen Technique OPJ framework uses two written papers on criminal law, criminal procedure, offence qualification, and procedural drafting. The papers total 40 points, with a 24-point passing threshold and an eliminatory score of 5/20 or lower on either paper. This bank provides 60 English MCQs for knowledge review; no official 2026 sitting date, fee, response language, or item count was found in the governing sources.

Sample Djibouti OPJ Gendarmerie Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your Djibouti OPJ Gendarmerie exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 60+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Article 1 of Djibouti's Penal Code classifies offences according to the penalties provided. Which classification does it use?

A.Crimes, délits, and contraventions

B.Crimes, disciplinary faults, and civil wrongs

C.Délits, administrative sanctions, and torts

D.Crimes, quasi-délits, and contractual breaches

Explanation: Article 1 uses the tripartite classification of crimes, délits, and contraventions, based on whether the law provides criminal, correctional, or police penalties. The classification affects jurisdiction and procedure as well as punishment.

2An act was not prohibited by penal law when it occurred, but a later statute criminalized it. Which rule in Article 3 governs?

A.The later statute applies if trial has not begun

B.No crime or penalty may be imposed without a pre-existing law

C.The prosecutor may choose which statute to apply

D.The later statute applies whenever it protects public order

Explanation: Article 3 states the legality principle: conduct cannot be punished unless the law defined the offence and penalty before the act. A later, harsher criminal rule therefore cannot create liability retroactively.

3Before a defendant's conviction becomes final, a new law reduces the penalty for the charged conduct. How does Article 5 apply?

A.The former penalty always applies because the act predates the new law

B.The court applies both penalties cumulatively

C.The milder new law applies to the pending case

D.Only the President may authorize use of the milder law

Explanation: Article 5 gives retroactive effect to a new penal provision that is less severe when the earlier case has not been finally adjudicated. This is the rule of rétroactivité in mitius.

4Under Article 24, which combination establishes a punishable attempt?

A.A firm intention plus remote preparation

B.Preparation plus later confession

C.A completed offence followed by remorse

D.A commencement of execution stopped or failing only because of circumstances independent of the actor's will

Explanation: Article 24 requires a commencement of execution and a failure or suspension caused only by circumstances independent of the perpetrator's will. Intention and preparatory steps alone do not satisfy that test.

5A person begins executing a theft but freely abandons it before taking property, without outside intervention. What follows under Article 24?

A.The attempted theft is not established because the stopping was voluntary

B.The completed theft is established because execution began

C.The attempt is established whenever criminal intent existed

D.The attempt becomes a contravention regardless of other conduct

Explanation: Article 24 requires the failure or suspension to result from circumstances independent of the actor's will. Voluntary abandonment therefore defeats liability for that attempted theft, although any separate completed offence remains assessable.

6What is the default mental-element rule in Article 22 of the Penal Code?

A.Every harmful result is criminal even without fault

B.There is no crime or délit without intent, except where the law provides for endangerment, negligence, imprudence, or a safety breach

C.Only crimes require intent; every délit is strict liability

D.Negligence is punishable whenever a victim requests prosecution

Explanation: Article 22 makes intent the default for crimes and délits while allowing non-intentional liability where legislation specifically provides for it. The article identifies endangerment, negligence, imprudence, and breach of a safety duty as statutory routes.

7Person A knowingly supplies a tool that Person B uses to commit a burglary. Under Articles 23–26, which classification best fits A if A did not perform the taking?

A.Co-author, because any prior help is an element of the burglary

B.Instigator, because supplying an object always amounts to provocation

C.Accomplice, because A knowingly aided preparation or commission

D.Receiver, because A possessed an object connected to the offence

Explanation: Article 26 treats a person as an accomplice when that person knowingly facilitates preparation or commission through aid or assistance. Article 25 separately treats one who induces an offence by specified forms of provocation as an author.

8Article 27 applies when a psychic or neuropsychic disorder completely abolished a person's discernment or control at the time of the act. What is the penal consequence?

A.The offence is automatically reduced by one class

B.The sentence is suspended but the conviction remains mandatory

C.Only civil liability is converted into a penal fine

D.The person is not criminally responsible for that act

Explanation: Complete abolition of discernment or control at the material time excludes criminal responsibility under Article 27. The rule concerns penal responsibility and does not itself decide every protective or civil measure that may follow.

9Which fact is decisive for the defense of constraint under Article 28?

A.The person faced a force or constraint that they could not resist

B.The person reasonably preferred not to comply with the law

C.The person acted after a superior expressed disapproval

D.The person later compensated the victim in full

Explanation: Article 28 excludes criminal responsibility for a person who acted under a force or constraint that the person could not resist. The statutory text centers on irresistibility and does not state a separate requirement that the event be unforeseeable.

10A public agent receives an order from a lawful superior, but the ordered act is manifestly illegal. How does Article 29 treat the order?

A.It justifies the act whenever issued in the course of service

B.It does not justify the act because the manifest-illegality exception applies

C.It justifies the act if the order was given in writing

D.It excuses only the material author and automatically convicts the superior

Explanation: Article 29 protects conduct prescribed by law or ordered by legitimate authority except where the act is manifestly illegal. The form of the order does not erase that statutory exception.

About the Djibouti OPJ Gendarmerie Exam

The Examen Technique d'Officier de Police Judiciaire (OPJ) de la Gendarmerie Nationale is the statutory in-service qualifying examination in Djibouti governed by Arrêté n° 2004-0214/PR/MDN, as amended by Arrêté n° 2007-0364/PRE/MDN, and linked to Article 18 of the Code de Procédure Pénale. Open to eligible gendarmes and non-commissioned officers with at least three years of service, it consists of two written papers: a 3-hour legal composition and a 4-hour practical procedural drafting and offence-qualification case. The 2018 General Military Statute states that the Gendarmerie OPJ diploma is awarded jointly by the Chef d'État-Major de la Gendarmerie and the Procureur de la République. This English-language bank adapts the official legal syllabus into 60 MCQs; it is not an official translation, an official format simulation, or a substitute for legal composition and procedural drafting practice.

Assessment

Administered over 2 consecutive days: Day 1 (08:00–11:00, 3 hours) is a written composition on general criminal law, special criminal law, or criminal procedure. Day 2 (08:00–12:00, 4 hours) is a practical procedural examination requiring the analysis of a concrete criminal case, offence qualification, and the drafting of a procedural record (procès-verbal).

Time Limit

7 hours total across two days (3 hours on Day 1, 4 hours on Day 2)

Passing Score

24/40 overall (12/20 average); any score equal to or below 5/20 on either paper is eliminatory

Exam Fee

Not published in the governing examination orders (Gendarmerie Nationale Djiboutienne; examination commission chaired by the Procureur Général près la Cour d'Appel)

Djibouti OPJ Gendarmerie Exam Content Outline

No official percentage published

General Criminal Law (Droit pénal général)

Elements of infractions, classification of crimes/délits/contraventions, punishable attempt, criminal responsibility, justification grounds, complicity, recidivism, penalties, and extinction of sanctions.

No official percentage published

Special Criminal Law (Droit pénal spécial)

Offences against persons, property crimes, offences against the State/public order, Road Traffic Code infractions, and Military Justice Code offences.

No official percentage published

Criminal Procedure and Judicial Police (Procédure pénale et Police Judiciaire)

Public and civil actions, prosecution authorities, examining magistrate, judicial police hierarchy and prerogatives, flagrancy vs preliminary inquiries, searches, police custody (garde à vue), trial courts, and juvenile justice.

One 4-hour paper; no topic percentage published

Practical Procedure and Drafting (Procédure pratique et rédaction d'actes)

Analysis of a concrete crime or délit, legal qualification and imputability, and drafting one procedural record. The separate oral police-technique/scientific component was removed in 2007.

How to Pass the Djibouti OPJ Gendarmerie Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: 24/40 overall (12/20 average); any score equal to or below 5/20 on either paper is eliminatory
Assessment: Administered over 2 consecutive days: Day 1 (08:00–11:00, 3 hours) is a written composition on general criminal law, special criminal law, or criminal procedure. Day 2 (08:00–12:00, 4 hours) is a practical procedural examination requiring the analysis of a concrete criminal case, offence qualification, and the drafting of a procedural record (procès-verbal).
Time limit: 7 hours total across two days (3 hours on Day 1, 4 hours on Day 2)
Exam fee: Not published in the governing examination orders

Keys to Passing

Work through all 60 available questions
Review every answer and explanation
Track weak areas and revisit them
Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

Djibouti OPJ Gendarmerie Study Tips from Top Performers

1Master the distinction between flagrance (Article 45 CPP) and preliminary inquiry regimes, particularly regarding residential search powers and consent.

2Memorize statutory police custody rules under Loi n° 30/78: 48-hour initial custody, prosecutor written extension up to 48 hours, and mandatory custody register recording.

3Understand the tripartite classification of offences (crimes, délits, contraventions) and their corresponding trial courts (Cour criminelle, Tribunal correctionnel, Tribunal de police).

4Practice applying legal qualifications to a concrete case and drafting the resulting procès-verbal, as required by the second written paper.

5Review the justification grounds in general criminal law: legitimate defense, state of necessity, and lawful order of legitimate authority.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the official format of Djibouti's Examen Technique OPJ?

The official examination comprises two written papers administered over two consecutive days: a 3-hour theoretical composition on criminal law or criminal procedure (Day 1) and a 4-hour practical procedure examination on a concrete crime or délit scenario requiring procedural drafting (Day 2). The oral test was repealed by Arrêté n° 2007-0364/PRE/MDN.

Who is eligible to take the Gendarmerie OPJ examination in Djibouti?

Article 1 covers specified gradés, gendarmes principaux, and particularly meritorious 1st/2nd-class gendarmes selected on the official candidate list, all with at least three years of Gendarmerie service by January 1. First-time candidates follow the 12-week preparation course spread over two years; eligible unsuccessful candidates may return for the revision week as free candidates, subject to the four-failure limit.

What passing score is required to obtain the Brevet d'OPJ?

Each paper is graded from 0 to 20 by double correction (one magistrate and one gendarmerie officer). A candidate must obtain at least 24 points out of 40 across the two papers (an average of 12/20). Any mark of 5/20 or lower on either paper is strictly eliminatory.

How many times can a candidate sit for the OPJ examination?

Under Article 22 of Arrêté n° 2004-0214/PR/MDN, candidates who fail four examination sessions are permanently ineligible to sit again.

How are OPJ powers formally conferred after passing?

The 2004 examination order states that the brevet is signed by the Chef d'État-Major de la Gendarmerie Nationale and the Procureur Général près la Cour d'Appel. The later 2018 General Military Statute states that the Gendarmerie OPJ diploma is awarded jointly by the Chef d'État-Major de la Gendarmerie and the Procureur de la République; operational OPJ powers also require the post and personal habilitation conditions in amended Article 18 of the Code de Procédure Pénale.

Has a 2026 OPJ examination sitting been officially announced?

No 2026 sitting notice or registration calendar was found in the official sources reviewed. This page describes the statutory examination framework that remains reflected in the 2012 Code de Procédure Pénale amendment and the 2018 General Military Statute, not a confirmed 2026 administration date.

Is this practice question bank an official simulation?

No. This is an English-language multiple-choice study adaptation of a written legal-composition and procedural-drafting examination. The governing orders are published in French and permit an unannotated French-language dictionary, but they do not expressly state the permitted response language, so this bank does not claim an official assessment language or present itself as an official translation.