Civil law in Guinea-Bissau

The Constitution protects equality before the law, equal rights of women and men and equal rights of children regardless of their parents' marital status. Natural and legal persons have civil legal capacity, and adulthood generally begins at 18 under Lei 5/76. Foreign nationals and stateless residents generally hold civil rights and duties on the basis of reciprocity, subject to restrictions concerning political and certain public rights. Civil status is recorded through the Directorate of Civil Identification, Registries and Notaries and related registry and notarial offices. Births should generally be registered within 30 days, and registration is free until the child reaches seven years of age. A death should generally be reported within 24 hours; a death certificate is commonly issued within about three days and is used for burial, inheritance and some social-assistance procedures. A marriage certificate can be needed for land transfers and bank credit. The Código Civil regulates obligations, contracts, breach of contract and damages. Written or notarised evidence is often practically valuable, even when the legal assessment depends on the type of transaction. Urban tenancy is primarily governed by Lei do Inquilinato, with the Código Civil applying on a subsidiary basis, while rural leases rely more directly on the Código Civil. Company and commercial transactions may fall under OHADA rules rather than a purely civil-law pathway. Land itself is state property and common national wealth, so private ownership of the land as such is not available. People and organisations may hold rights in buildings and other improvements and may obtain land-use rights through customary use or a concession. Communities, Governo, Municípios, Comissões Fundiárias, Serviços Cadastrais e de Registo and the Serviço Nacional de Geografia e Cadastro may have different responsibilities. Customary land use can be protected without a written contract or registration. Transfers within a local community may follow local custom, including inheritance; transfers to outsiders require the relevant state or community approval and a concession. Urban surface concessions are handled through municipalities, while rural concessions involve the national cadastral service. Family law combines the Lei da Família 10/92, the Código Civil and several post-independence laws. Civil marriage generally requires an age of 18, or 16 with parental or guardian consent, and marriage registration is required. A união de facto or casamento não formalizado may receive judicial recognition after at least three years and can then have effects comparable to marriage, including retroactive effects. Divorce may proceed by mutual consent or through a contested case. Formal rules also cover parentage, parental responsibility, custody and adoption, but conflicts between formal, customary and religious unions can affect the practical outcome. Inheritance is governed by Book V of the Código Civil and constitutional principles. A death certificate is normally a practical prerequisite for estate administration. Formal marriage and parentage status can affect succession, while customary land-use rights may pass through inheritance under local practice. Wills, forced-heirship rules and estate transfers follow formal legal requirements, but current costs and processing times vary and are not reliably published nationwide. Contractual and non-contractual liability are recognised under the Código Civil. Public bodies can incur civil liability for rights violations or damage caused through official activity, and land law also provides for liability for damage caused by land use. The amount of compensation and any limitation period depend on the facts and applicable procedure. The Código de Processo Civil and supplementary laws govern civil claims. Regional Courts have general jurisdiction, the Supreme Court of Justice is the highest court, and Bissau has civil, family and juvenile courts as well as civil-execution functions. Sector tribunals offer simpler procedures with limited civil and criminal jurisdiction. Formal court access is not equally reliable in every region, and several areas do not have a consistently reachable court. A judgment binds public and private bodies, but enforcement can be affected by court fees, staffing, infrastructure and other resource limits. OHADA procedures may assist with simplified debt recovery and enforcement in primarily commercial matters. The Constitution and the Organic Law protect access to justice regardless of means. Legal aid can be available for a concrete and viable case when the applicant has a personal interest and proves economic inability. Applications may generally be made in any jurisdiction and at different procedural stages. The OAGB offers legal-aid or pro-bono channels, while CAJ centres linked to the Ministry of Justice provide legal information, mediation, referrals and legal aid. UNICEF reported seven CAJ centres in 2025, including centres in Bissau, Cacheu, Oio, Quinara, Bafatá and Gabú, and a UN report recorded almost 27,000 beneficiaries in 2024. Assisted cases may qualify for exemption from court fees. Customary leaders and community mechanisms remain significant, especially for land, family and inheritance disputes. Their practical and legal effect depends on the subject: customary land-use practices have explicit legal protection in some contexts, but a customary decision is not automatically equivalent to a court judgment. A dispute may move from CAJ mediation or a community process to a formal court when mediation fails or a legally enforceable decision is required. Consumer, labour and criminal matters belong primarily to other legal areas, although they can overlap with civil claims.