MOZAMBIQUE Law and Practice Contributed by: José Miguel Oliveira, Kenny Laisse and Caio de Mello Ferreira, VdA
VdA (with GDA Advogados) Rua Dom Luís, 28 1200 151 Lisboa Portugal Av. Marginal, nº 141, Edifício Torres Rani, 10th Floor Maputo Moçambique
Tel: +351 21 311 3400 Fax: +351 21 354 0325 Email: jmo@vda.pt Web: www.vda.pt
1. Maritime and Shipping Legislation and Regulation 1.1 Domestic Laws Establishing the Authorities of the Maritime and Shipping Courts The main domestic law establishing the authorities of maritime courts in Mozambique is Law No 10/2022 of 7 July 2022 (“Law 10/2022”), which formally estab - lishes the legal framework for the organisation, com - position, operation and authorities of maritime courts. This law provides that the maritime courts have mari - time, river, lake and port jurisdiction in civil, criminal, commercial, misdemeanour and international mari - time law matters. By an order dated 6 April 2023, the Supreme Court inaugurated the Maritime Courts of Maputo City, Sofala and Nampula Provinces – all cur - rently fully functional and operating. It is noteworthy that the Maritime Court of Maputo City has jurisdiction over the provinces of Maputo, Gaza and Inhambane, while the Maritime Court of Nampula covers the prov - inces of Cabo Delgado, Niassa and Zambézia. The extension of the jurisdictional authority of these courts has been implemented by the Supreme Court and will remain in place until dedicated maritime courts are established in each of the aforementioned provinces. The most common maritime and shipping claims filed with the competent courts relate to collisions and disputes concerning cargo and maritime claims (ship arrests).
1.2 Port State Control In Mozambique, port state control is exercised by the National Sea Institute ( Instituto Nacional do Mar , IP , or INAMAR), a public entity that has competence over all maritime matters in the country, as provided for in Decree No 88/2021 of 28 October 2021 and Resolution No 15/2022 of 19 September 2022, which approved INAMAR’s Organic Statute. In general, INAMAR is responsible for the following: • the exercise of maritime authority in the areas of maritime, lake, fluvial jurisdiction and coastal zones, as well as in the domain of maritime admin - istration, safety and protection; • the planning of maritime space and the public maritime domain of the coastal zone; • the supervision of activities in maritime, fluvial and lake areas, and the public maritime domain of the coastal zone, as well as compliance with standards regarding the protection of marine and coastal eco - systems and the conditions of conservation and exploitation of marine conservation areas; • the development and implementation of measures ensuring the sustainable exploitation, conservation and preservation of aquatic ecosystems; and • the conducting and/or co-ordinating of search and rescue activities, as well as saving assets, in mari - time, fluvial and lake areas, with the involvement of other relevant entities.
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