CRA Timor News

The New Civil Code

Recently, the National Parliament of Timor-Leste, by means of Law no. 10/2011 of September 14th, approved the new Timorese Civil Code, which has, consequently, , by virtue of Article 17 and Article 3 paragraph 1 of the UNTAET Regulation no. 1/1999, resulted in the automatic revocation of the Indonesian Civil Code.

The Timorese Civil Code, of a civil law matrix and nature, was heavily influenced by its Portuguese counterpart and consists of the following five books:

I – General Part;
II – Contract Law;
III – Property Law;
IV – Family Law;
V – Law of Sucession.

The approval of the Civil Code, which complements the Civil Procedure Code already in force, represents a milestone in the development of Timor-Leste, since the country is now endowed with its own law totally regulating comprehensive legal and business relationships entered into between private parties.

It is important to underline that the approval of this Law has overcome the difficulty that all agents in the country, individual and collective, have been dealing with due to the absence of a Law capable of systematize and regulate the wide range of legal relationships arising out of society, prompting the suspicion and indecision with final repercussions on the economic activities level. In addition, it is worth mentioning that the entry into force of the Civil Code will assist the Timorese Courts themselves in drafting more fair and justice decisions.

Additionally, it should be noted that the Civil Code, though already approved and published, shall only enter into force on March 15th 2012, due to its vacatio legis.

CRA Timor, as an agent of the achievement of justice in Timor-Leste, greets and welcomes the adoption of the Civil Code and underlines the commitment of political and legislative entities in the definition of a balanced solution before the beginning of 2012.

If in recent months CRA Timor has been witnessing the strength and economic growth of the country, it is now certain that this step will now support even further the confidence of the individuals and companies in the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, in their institutions and in its legal system.

We believe that the approval of the Civil Code represents, in the end, the built of the legal foundations that the legal system, as a whole, needed, and shall spread the confidence to entrepreneurs to increase investment in the country.

If CRA Timor in its relations with customers, just prior to approval of the Civil Code, supported and encouraged the increase of investment in the country by the business community, now one may say that the civil law legislation can be built on a modern, systematic and technically well prepared statute, which shall tend to become highly praised by both of domestic and foreign investors.

We believe that the entry into force of the Civil Code is a good omen for the year 2012 and will unite the country's path towards a more fair and entrepreneurial society, in which CRA Timor is committed to bear witness.

Alexandre Pita Soares