The legal system of Peru
A civil-law system under the 1993 Constitution, with a Constitutional Tribunal and a consolidated Code of Constitutional Procedure that gathers the amparo, habeas corpus, habeas data and the popular action into one statute. Peru's distinctive feature is institutional instability produced by the constitutional relationship between President and Congress: censure of ministers, presidential dissolution of Congress and vacancy for moral incapacity have all been used repeatedly since 2016.
Legal tradition
Peru belongs to the civil law tradition. A civil-law system under the 1993 Constitution, with a Constitutional Tribunal and a consolidated Code of Constitutional Procedure that gathers the amparo, habeas corpus, habeas data and the popular action into one statute. Peru's distinctive feature is institutional instability produced by the constitutional relationship between President and Congress: censure of ministers, presidential dissolution of Congress and vacancy for moral incapacity have all been used repeatedly since 2016.
How power is divided
Unitary and decentralised, with twenty-five regional governments and the Lima Metropolitan Municipality holding elected councils and administrative competence. Peasant and native communities exercise jurisdiction within their territory under Article 149 in coordination with the justices of the peace.
Where law comes from
- Constitution and ratified treaties
- Treaties in force form part of national law; human-rights treaties guide interpretation.
- Statutes and legislative decrees
- Congress may delegate legislative power to the executive on defined subjects.
- Codes
- Civil Code (1984), Penal Code (1991), Code of Constitutional Procedure (2021).
- Binding precedent
- Constitutional Tribunal precedent and Supreme Court plenary agreements bind lower courts.
The legal profession
A law degree followed by a bachiller and título de abogado, then compulsory registration with one of the departmental colegios de abogados, which hold disciplinary power. Registration in one college permits practice nationwide. Notaries are a separate profession appointed by competitive examination.
Law by topic in Peru
- Immigration & NationalityMigraciones administers residence under Decreto Legislativo 1350Decreto Legislativo 1350 and its regulation govern migration, administered by the Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones. Categories include worker, investor, family and student, and Peru has issued temporary permits (PTP and later CPP) to large numbers of Venezuelan nationals. Foreign residents receive a carné de extranjería.
- Property & LandSUNARP registration and large-scale urban titling through COFOPRIOwnership of real property is transferred by contract under the Código Civil, but registration in SUNARP's Registro de Predios is what makes the right effective against third parties. Peru ran an internationally studied urban land-titling programme through COFOPRI, formalising millions of informal settlement plots. Foreigners cannot own land within 50 kilometres of the border without authorisation.
- Employment & LabourFragmented regimes with severance capped at 12 salariesPrivate-sector employment is governed principally by Decreto Supremo 003-97-TR. Dismissal without a lawful ground entitles the worker to compensation of one and a half salaries per year of service, capped at 12 salaries. Workers receive two annual gratificaciones (July and December) and a CTS deposit twice yearly as a severance fund.
- Tax LawSUNAT administers 29.5 percent corporate tax and 18 percent IGVSUNAT administers national taxation. Corporate income tax is 29.5 percent, and the IGV (VAT) is 18 percent including the 2 percent municipal promotion tax. Smaller businesses may use simplified regimes — the RUS, the special regime and the MYPE Tributario — with reduced rates and lighter filing. Withholding and detraction systems support VAT collection.
- Civil ProcedureCódigo Procesal Civil with conciliation as a filing prerequisiteThe Código Procesal Civil of 1993 provides knowledge, abbreviated and summary tracks, with oral hearings for evidence. Extrajudicial conciliation under Ley 26872 is a mandatory prerequisite before filing most civil claims. Enforcement proceeds by executory process where the claimant holds a qualifying title such as a judgment or notarised instrument.
- Constitutional Law1993 Constitution with a Tribunal Constitucional and amparoPeru's 1993 Constitution establishes a unitary republic with a Tribunal Constitucional that hears final appeals in constitutional actions and rules on the constitutionality of statutes. The Código Procesal Constitucional consolidates amparo, habeas corpus, habeas data and the acción de cumplimiento. Constitutional processes take priority over ordinary litigation.
- Business & CorporateLey General de Sociedades with SA, SAC and SRL vehiclesLey 26887, the Ley General de Sociedades, provides the sociedad anónima (SA), the closely held sociedad anónima cerrada (SAC) and the sociedad comercial de responsabilidad limitada (SRL). The SAC is the usual choice for small and medium businesses. Incorporation involves a notarial deed and registration in the Registros Públicos (SUNARP), plus a RUC from SUNAT.
- Family LawCódigo Civil marriage, de facto unions and notarial separationThe Código Civil regulates marriage and the unión de hecho, which after two years of cohabitation between a man and a woman free to marry creates a community of property. Peru has not legalised same-sex marriage, though courts have ordered registration of some marriages celebrated abroad. Uncontested separation and subsequent divorce may proceed before a notary or municipality.
- Criminal Law2004 Código Procesal Penal introduced adversarial oral trialsDecreto Legislativo 957 enacted the 2004 Código Procesal Penal, phased in across judicial districts to replace inquisitorial procedure with an adversarial model led by the Ministerio Público. Investigation judges control guarantees, and the code provides for plea agreements (terminación anticipada) and effective-collaboration deals used prominently in major corruption cases.
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