The legal system of Uruguay
A civil-law system under the 1967 Constitution, and consistently the region's strongest performer on rule-of-law and judicial-independence measures. Uruguay is unusual for how much law is made by direct democracy: the Constitution allows citizen-initiated referendums to repeal statutes and plebiscites to amend the Constitution, and both have overturned major legislation. It legalised and regulated cannabis in 2013, the first country in the world to do so at national level.
Legal tradition
Uruguay belongs to the civil law tradition. A civil-law system under the 1967 Constitution, and consistently the region's strongest performer on rule-of-law and judicial-independence measures. Uruguay is unusual for how much law is made by direct democracy: the Constitution allows citizen-initiated referendums to repeal statutes and plebiscites to amend the Constitution, and both have overturned major legislation. It legalised and regulated cannabis in 2013, the first country in the world to do so at national level.
How power is divided
Unitary. Nineteen departments have elected intendentes and juntas with administrative and local taxing competence, and municipalities were added in 2010, but all legislative power belongs to the General Assembly.
Where law comes from
- Constitution
- Amendable by plebiscite, including on citizen initiative.
- Statutes of the General Assembly
- Subject to repeal by citizen-initiated referendum within a year.
- Codes
- Civil Code (1868), Penal Code, General Code of Procedure (1989), which pioneered oral civil procedure in the region.
- Case law
- Not binding; doctrine and Supreme Court practice are influential.
The legal profession
A degree from the Universidad de la República or an accredited private faculty confers the title of abogado, with registration by the Supreme Court. Membership of the Colegio de Abogados del Uruguay is voluntary; the Supreme Court exercises discipline. Escribanos públicos are a separate profession with exclusive competence over conveyancing.
Law by topic in Uruguay
- Criminal LawAdversarial procedure since 2017 and regulated cannabisLey 19.293 enacted a new Código del Proceso Penal, in force from November 2017, replacing written inquisitorial procedure with oral adversarial hearings led by the Fiscalía General de la Nación. Uruguay is also the first country to regulate the entire cannabis market by statute, under Ley 19.172 of 2013, covering production, distribution and sale.
- Business & CorporateLey 16.060 companies plus the 2019 SAS and free zonesLey 16.060 governs commercial companies, principally the sociedad anónima and SRL, supervised by the Auditoría Interna de la Nación. Ley 19.820 of 2019 created the sociedad por acciones simplificada (SAS) with single-shareholder electronic formation. Uruguay's free-zone regime under Ley 15.921 offers wide tax exemptions and hosts substantial services and logistics operations.
- Property & LandRegistro de la Propiedad inscription with no restriction on foreign buyersReal property transfers require a public deed before an escribano and inscription in the Registro de la Propiedad Inmueble, administered by the Dirección General de Registros. Uruguay places no nationality restriction on foreign ownership of land, including coastal and rural property, which distinguishes it from most neighbours.
- Employment & LabourConsejos de Salarios wage councils and eight-hour day since 1915Uruguay has no single labour code; employment law is a body of statutes plus collective agreements reached in tripartite Consejos de Salarios convened by sector under Ley 10.449. The eight-hour day dates from 1915. Dismissal is generally permitted with despido compensation of one month per year of service, capped at six months for most workers.
- Tax LawDGI administers 25 percent IRAE and 22 percent VAT on a territorial baseThe Dirección General Impositiva administers taxation. Corporate income tax (IRAE) is 25 percent, VAT (IVA) is 22 percent with a reduced 10 percent rate, and personal income tax (IRPF) is progressive. Taxation is largely territorial, and new residents may elect a multi-year holiday on foreign investment income under a tax-residence incentive regime.
- Civil Procedure1989 Código General del Proceso, a regional oral-procedure modelUruguay's Código General del Proceso of 1989 was the first in Latin America to implement the Iberoamerican Model Code, establishing oral, concentrated proceedings with a preliminary hearing and immediate evidence-taking. It became the template that later reforms in Peru, Colombia and elsewhere drew upon. Amparo is regulated separately by Ley 16.011.
- Family LawEqual marriage since 2013 and unión concubinaria since 2008Ley 19.075 opened marriage to same-sex couples in 2013, following Ley 18.246 of 2008 which created the unión concubinaria, recognised judicially after five years of cohabitation regardless of the partners' sex. Divorce is available including by the wife's sole will under a long-standing provision, and Uruguay legalised abortion in 2012 and adoption by same-sex couples in 2009.
- Constitutional Law1967 Constitution with referendum and plebiscite mechanismsUruguay's 1967 Constitution, restored in 1985 after the dictatorship, provides for direct-democracy tools used more actively than almost anywhere: citizens can force a referendum to repeal a statute and can initiate constitutional plebiscites. Constitutional review is exercised by the Suprema Corte de Justicia, whose declaration of unconstitutionality applies to the case before it rather than annulling the law generally.
- Immigration & NationalityLey 18.250 recognising migration as a human rightLey 18.250 of 2008 governs migration and expressly recognises the right to migrate, guaranteeing equal treatment in access to health, education and work regardless of status. The Dirección Nacional de Migración administers residence, and Mercosur nationals have a simplified route. Uruguay grants legal citizenship to residents after defined periods, distinct from natural citizenship.
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