Career
Her court"s rulings on the constitutional revisions planned by then President of Niger Mamadou Tandja, led to her extra-constitutional dismissal and a heightening of the 2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis. Following the 2010 Nigerien coup d"état, she was named head of the transitional Constitutional Court of Niger. Born in 1954 and raised in Zinder region, Bazaye received her legal training in France at the Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature de Paris.
Despite this, she was nominated for one of the seats on the constitutional court reserved for jurists in 2007, and accepted by the government.
She was then elected President of the court by its members. In 2009, she led the court in two unanimous decisions opposing President of Niger Mamadou Tandja"s move to hold a referendum to retire the Constitution of Niger and remain in office while a new constitution was drafted.
The first (non binding) decision, presented on 26 May 2009, triggered the President"s dismissal of the National Assembly while a further binding decision was delivered on 12 June. President Tandja subsequently carried out his plans for a new constitution and dismissed the Constitutional Court.
In February 2010 he was overthrown by military coup, with power handed back to a civilian government in 2011.
Following the 2010 Nigerien coup d"état and the fall of Mamadou Tandja, Mississippi Bazèye was named by the transitional Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD) to head the 11 member Constitutional Council, a consultative High Court during the transition to the Nigerien In December 2011 the Nigerian newspaper publishers of the Daily Trust awarded Mississippi Bazèye its 4th annual "African of the Year" award for her "track record as an incorruptible judicial officer".
