ANGOLA Law and Practice Contributed by: Cecília Mungongo, FBL ADVOGADOS
1. General 1.1 General Characteristics of the Legal System Angola’s legal system is of the civil law type. As a former Portuguese colony, Angola inherited this legal system from Portugal and still adopts some important legal diplomas that were in force before the date of its independence. The procedural model is dialectical and the par- ties are generally allowed to submit successive pleadings and applications. Every application filed, by either party, that may affect the rights of the opponent shall be notified to the other party for opposition purposes. The process is typically a written one but provides for hearings for the oral discussion of technical issues, for attempts at conciliation, evidence and closing arguments. 1.2 Court System Under the Angolan Constitution, the highest courts are the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Military Court and the Court of Auditors. Until 2015, ordinary jurisdiction was based on only two levels of courts: the Supreme Court and the Provincial Courts. Law No 2/15 of 2 Janu- ary 2015 created a new structure for the ordi- nary judicial system, which was amended again with the entry into force of Law No 29/22 of 29 August 2015 – Organic Law on the Organisation and Functioning of the Ordinary Courts of Juris- diction, although this is not such a substantial change in general terms. Under this new law, the judicial system is made up of the Supreme Court as the highest court in the hierarchy of the Common Courts, with the District Courts as the courts of first instance and the Court of Appeal as the second instance.
The District Courts have Chambers and Sections that are designated by their jurisdiction by rea- son of the subject matter, as follows: • Civil and Administrative; • Criminal; • Family; • Labour; • Commerce; • Intellectual and Industrial Property; • Administrative, Tax and Customs Litigation; • Maritime Matters; and • Civil and Penalty Enforcements. In addition, if justified, Specialised Competence Rooms may be created in each of the subjects. The Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal have the following specialised Chambers: • Criminal; • Civil; • Administrative, Tax and Customs Litigation; • Labour; and • Family and Juvenile Justice. Where the workload so requires, the Supreme Court may order that those chambers be sub- divided. The Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal have the following specialised Sections: • Criminal; • Civil; • Administrative, Tax and Customs Litigation; • Labour; and • Family and Juvenile Justice. Judgments of the Court of Appeal can be appealed to the Supreme Court and from there to the Constitutional Court if they offend fun-
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