Procedures
Portuguese-derived civil procedure with OHADA enforcement and CCJA appeal
Civil procedure follows the Portuguese Código de Processo Civil, while debt recovery and enforcement against assets are governed by the OHADA Uniform Act. Final appeal on Uniform Act points lies to the CCJA in Abidjan.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Tribunais Regionais at first instance, the Supremo Tribunal de Justiça above them, and the CCJA on Uniform Act questions.
- Deadline — Appeal to the Supremo Tribunal de Justiça: per the Código de Processo Civil
- Deadline — Opposition to an injonction de payer: 15 days under the Uniform Act
- Deadline — CCJA pourvoi: two months
Governing law
- Código de Processo CivilPortuguese-derived
- Acte uniforme portant organisation des procédures simplifiées de recouvrement et des voies d'exécution
In practice
Guinea-Bissau's procedure is the clearest illustration of its bijural position: a creditor pleads under Portuguese-derived procedural rules but enforces under a French-language OHADA Uniform Act, and may end up before a court in Abidjan applying that Act in French. Practitioners must work across both traditions and both languages, and the Uniform Acts have no official Portuguese version.