Criminal
Código Penal 2020 replacing the 1886 Portuguese code
The 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.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Municipal and provincial courts try offences; the Tribunal Supremo hears criminal appeals.
- Deadline — Detention reviewed by a judge within 48 hours
Governing law
- Código PenalLei 38/20
- Código de Processo PenalLei 39/20
- Constitution art 59 — abolition of the death penalty
In practice
Replacing an 1886 code in 2020 was a generational reform: until then Angolan criminal law was administered from a nineteenth-century Portuguese text, and the new Code's decriminalisation provisions made Angola one of the more protective jurisdictions on the continent on sexual-orientation grounds.