Procedures
Portuguese-derived civil procedure in a four-district court system
Civil claims begin in one of the district courts — Dili, Baucau, Suai and Oecusse — and are appealed to the Court of Appeal in Dili. Procedure follows the Portuguese civil law tradition, with written pleadings and a judge-led evidentiary phase rather than adversarial party control.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National, through four district courts with defined territorial areas.
- Deadline — Appeals to the Court of Appeal are generally lodged within 15 days of notification of the decision
Governing law
- Civil Procedure Code (Decree-Law No. 1/2006) — governs the conduct of civil actions
- Law No. 11/2004 on the organisation of the courts — sets the district court structure
In practice
Proceedings are conducted in Portuguese or Tetum, and the shortage of qualified legal professionals fluent in Portuguese has been a persistent practical constraint on the pace of litigation. The judge takes an active role in defining the issues and ordering evidence. Because the Supreme Court of Justice has never been constituted, the Court of Appeal is the court of last resort for civil matters, which means there is no further domestic appeal beyond it.