The legal system of Angola
A Portuguese-tradition civil-law system, not an OHADA member, so commercial law is genuinely national — the 2004 Commercial Companies Law and the private investment and petroleum regimes are the operative texts. The 2010 constitution created a strong presidency and a Constitutional Court that has been active in electoral and rights matters.
Legal tradition
Angola belongs to the civil law (portuguese tradition) tradition. A Portuguese-tradition civil-law system, not an OHADA member, so commercial law is genuinely national — the 2004 Commercial Companies Law and the private investment and petroleum regimes are the operative texts. The 2010 constitution created a strong presidency and a Constitutional Court that has been active in electoral and rights matters.
How power is divided
A strongly presidential system in which the President is both head of state and head of government, with a unicameral National Assembly and a judiciary headed by the Supreme Court and a separate Constitutional Court.
Where law comes from
- Constitution
- Supreme law; 2010 text.
- International law
- Ratified treaties form part of the domestic order.
- Laws and presidential legislative decrees
- Assembly statutes and delegated instruments.
- Codes and commercial statutes
- Civil Code, Commercial Companies Law 2004, private investment and petroleum laws.
- Customary law
- Recognised where consistent with the constitution and public order.
The legal profession
Advogados admitted through the Ordem dos Advogados de Angola after a law degree and traineeship; notaries and registrars form separate careers.
Law by topic in Angola
- Property & LandLei de Terras with state ownership of land and transferable surface rightsThe Lei de Terras (Lei 9/04) vests original ownership of land in the state, with private parties holding transferable surface rights (direito de superfície) and useful domain over urban land. Rural community land is recognised. Registration is with the Conservatória do Registo Predial.
- Civil ProcedurePortuguese-derived Código de Processo Civil with written pleadings and appeal to the SupremoCivil procedure follows the received Portuguese Código de Processo Civil, characterised by written pleadings, judge-led inquiry and documentary emphasis rather than oral adversarial trial. Limitation (prescrição) runs under the Civil Code — generally twenty years for ordinary obligations, with shorter special periods.
- Constitutional Law2010 Constitution with a strong presidency and a Constitutional CourtThe 2010 Constitution replaced the 1992 revision and concentrates executive power in a President who is the head of the winning party's list rather than separately elected. Title II contains fundamental rights, and the Tribunal Constitucional exercises both abstract and concrete review. The Supreme Court remains the apex of the ordinary courts.
- Business & CorporateLei das Sociedades Comerciais with a private-investment regime and local contentCompany law rests on the Lei das Sociedades Comerciais (Lei 1/04), following the Portuguese model with the sociedade por quotas and sociedade anónima as the principal forms. The Private Investment Law (Lei 10/18) removed the general requirement for an Angolan partner outside reserved sectors, and petroleum and mining have their own dedicated local-content regimes.
- Immigration & NationalityLei dos Estrangeiros visas with work permits tied to expatriate quotasThe Lei dos Estrangeiros (Lei 13/19) governs entry and residence. Work visas require an approved employment contract, and labour law imposes a foreign-worker quota — generally a maximum of 30 per cent of the workforce for companies above a threshold. Angola introduced visa exemption for many nationalities for tourism in 2023.
- Employment & LabourLei Geral do Trabalho 7/15 with fixed-term flexibility and expatriate quotasThe Lei Geral do Trabalho (Lei 7/15) replaced the 2000 statute, liberalising fixed-term contracting and simplifying dismissal for large employers while preserving compensation on termination. Company size determines several obligations, and the foreign-worker quota applies alongside.
- Tax LawImposto Industrial at 25 per cent with VAT since 2019 and a petroleum regimeThe Imposto Industrial (corporate income tax) is charged at 25 per cent, with banking and insurance at 35 per cent. IVA (VAT) was introduced in 2019 at 14 per cent, replacing the consumption tax. Petroleum operations are taxed under a separate regime with substantially higher rates.
- Family LawCódigo da Família 1988 with recognised de facto unions and equal spousal capacityThe Código da Família (Lei 1/88) governs marriage, filiation and succession, and was progressive for its time in recognising the união de facto — a de facto union — as producing legal effects after three years. Marriage is monogamous and both spouses have equal capacity. The 2020 Penal Code decriminalised same-sex conduct.
- Criminal LawCódigo Penal 2020 replacing the 1886 Portuguese codeThe Código Penal (Lei 38/20) came into force in 2021, replacing the Portuguese code of 1886 — one of the oldest criminal codes still in force anywhere until then. It decriminalised same-sex sexual conduct, criminalised discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, and modernised sentencing. The death penalty was abolished in 1992.
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