Criminal law in Angola

Angola’s main criminal-law framework is the Penal Code, Lei n.º 38/20 of 11 November 2020, amended by Lei n.º 12/24 of 4 July 2024, and the Code of Criminal Procedure, Lei n.º 39/20 of 11 November 2020, amended by Lei n.º 14/22 of 25 May 2022. Criminal proceedings are conducted mainly in Portuguese. The legal system follows the principle that an offence and its punishment require a prior legal rule; analogy cannot create a criminal offence or punishment, and a later more lenient criminal law can apply. Criminal responsibility generally requires intent, while negligence is punishable only where the law provides for it. An attempt is generally punishable when the completed offence carries a prison sentence of more than three years. Self-defence, necessity and lack of criminal capacity can exclude unlawfulness or responsibility. The exact classification depends on the statutory offence, intent or negligence, value thresholds, aggravated circumstances, attempt, concurrence of offences, limitation rules and amendments in force. The Penal Code covers offences against life and persons, property, sexual freedom, family, public order, the State and public authority, the economy and market, the environment, road safety and information systems. Road-related criminal offences include driving without legal authorisation or despite withdrawal or cancellation of authorisation when the conduct causes a specified danger or harm, dangerous driving, and driving with a blood alcohol level from 1.2 g/l. Refusing a required alcohol test can constitute the offence of disobedience. Administrative traffic violations remain separate unless they produce a criminal consequence. A criminal matter can begin through a denúncia, a queixa, an auto de notícia or official knowledge of an offence. A denúncia reports facts without expressly demanding prosecution; a queixa reports the facts and expresses the wish for prosecution. Anyone can report to the Ministério Público or the police, including the Serviço de Investigação Criminal (SIC), without first knowing the suspect, assigning a legal classification, hiring a lawyer or paying a reporting fee. Police officers and public employees have reporting duties in situations covered by law, and the police should forward the report to the Ministério Público within ten days. The Ministério Público gains authority to act when it learns of a suspected offence. A crime público can be prosecuted officially, while a semi-public crime requires a queixa. A particular crime requires a queixa, constitution as an assistente and a private prosecution. The usual sequence can include instrução preparatória, followed by acusação or arquivamento, possible instrução contraditória, julgamento, judgment, appeal and enforcement. Tribunais de Comarca generally hear cases at first instance, Tribunais da Relação review facts and law, and the Tribunal Supremo is the highest ordinary court. The SIC investigates criminal matters and can carry out arrests, searches, seizures and expert examinations within its legal authority. The Ministério Público directs or supervises the preparatory investigation, files charges or closes the case, and requests enforcement measures. The Juiz de Garantias provides judicial control during the preliminary stage. Certain searches, seizures, intimate or medical examinations, telephone monitoring and other intrusive measures require judicial authorisation or review, with proportionality and defence rights preserved. Detention normally cannot exceed 48 hours before the required judicial control. In flagrante delicto, an authority must arrest under the legal conditions, while a private person may arrest in the circumstances permitted by law. Outside flagrante delicto, an arrest requires a statutory ground. The detained arguido should receive a first judicial hearing on the same day or within 48 hours when a justified impossibility prevents it. The Juiz de Garantias then validates or reviews the detention and orders a coercive measure or release. Possible measures include termo de identidade e residência, regular reporting, restrictions on places or contact, caução, a travel ban, house arrest and prisão preventiva. A stronger measure is justified only when a less restrictive measure is insufficient, and the court must consider necessity and proportionality. Financial safeguards can include caução económica and arresto preventivo. An arguido has rights to information, a hearing, silence about the accusation, a freely chosen or requested defensor, confidential contact with a lawyer during detention, evidence applications, complaints and appeals. The arguido must follow summonses, provide truthful identity and criminal-record information, comply with ordered evidence or security measures and avoid disrupting the proceedings. Statements made before formal arguido status cannot be used against that person under the stated procedural rule. The main punishments are imprisonment and fines. The system also provides alternatives such as weekend imprisonment, community service, suspended sentences and a reprimand, together with additional penalties such as professional or office restrictions, suspension from office, driving bans and expulsion where legally applicable. Imprisonment commonly ranges from three months to 25 years, with an overall limit of 35 years for combined sentences. Fines commonly range from 10 to 360 day-fines, with daily amounts of 75 to 750 Unidades de Referência Processual; instalments may be allowed for up to two years. Conditional release can become legally possible at different fractions of the sentence, including one-half, two-thirds or later thresholds depending on the case. Amnesty, a general pardon or an indulto can affect punishment or enforcement. A vítima can report the offence, act as an assistente, request investigative steps and evidence, participate in the hearing and appeal. Lei n.º 1/20 provides protection for victims and witnesses, generally for offences carrying at least three years of imprisonment, through measures such as concealed identity, voice distortion, videoconference, early testimony, social or psychological support, separation from threatening persons and special identity, housing or security programmes. Vulnerable victims should be heard early and, where possible, without repeated questioning. Compensation can be claimed through adesão in the criminal proceedings, while the substantive compensation rules generally belong to civil law; no universal state compensation fund is established by the available legal information. Children under 16 do not receive ordinary criminal punishment. The Julgado de Menores applies assistance, educational or corrective measures under Lei n.º 9/96. For young people aged 16 to under 18, the criminal range is reduced by two-thirds, imprisonment is capped at eight years and separate placement should be used where possible. Adults under 21 can generally receive special mitigation. Juvenile procedures and specialised court availability are not necessarily implemented uniformly across Angola. Digital offences include unauthorised access, unauthorised interception, data damage, computer sabotage, computer forgery, computer fraud and unlawful duplication. Unauthorised access can carry up to two years of imprisonment or 240 day-fines, while a security breach or protected service can carry two to eight years; aggravated interception can also carry two to eight years. Lei n.º 7/17 regulates data retention and transmission and legally controlled interception. Lei n.º 11/20 regulates cell-site location and electronic monitoring for criminal investigations, subject to prosecutorial and judicial limits. Reports to the SIC or Polícia Nacional and the Ministério Público are free according to official citizen information, and a lawyer is not required to file them. Private lawyer, expert, translation, transport and copying costs vary. Some judicial authorisation decisions have a 24-hour period, detention and first-hearing rules centre on 48 hours, and the total length of a criminal case depends on the facts, court and province rather than a universal timetable. The precise current statutory text, court organisation, Juiz de Garantias practice, access to defence counsel, youth measures, limitation rules and regional implementation should be checked before relying on the procedure in a specific case.