Africa-Press – Angola. The Criminal Procedure Code will be reviewed again by Parliament, under discussion, in detail, from next week, seven months after its approval in the National Assembly.
After approval by the “Casa das Leis”, the President of the Republic decided to return the diploma, “for revealing some imperfections and inaccuracies that need correction”.
To this end, the parliamentarians approved, on Tuesday (22), in general, the joint report-opinion of the proposed Law amending the Criminal Procedure Code. With the correction of the rules, the Executive intends to make Criminal Justice faster and, above all, to guarantee, in an effective way, the rights of the defendants and victims.
According to the report, “despite the short period of validity, (the diploma) revealed some gaps necessary to correct and fill, in order to make justice faster”.
The proposal, according to the document, aims to make specific changes to some rules of the Angolan Criminal Procedure, approved by Law nº 39/20.
Presented by deputy Vigílio Tyova, from the MPLA Parliamentary Group, the project is part of the process of reviewing and updating legislation, given the constitutional framework approved by Constitutional Revision Law nº 18/2021, of 16 August.
The Joint Report-Opinion was generally approved with 90 votes in favour, one abstention and none against. The document contains a preambular part and other provisions consisting of four articles.
For David Mendes, a deputy who is not part of any parliamentary group, the practical application showed that some concepts were misapplied and failed to fulfill the intended function.
For the deputy, “it is not easy to accept that, in less than a year, the Criminal Procedure Code will be changed”. “What was the reason for the celerity (for approval), when there were some issues that could be taken (in account)?”, he asked.
“Those who followed the discussions realized that the Executive’s Technical Commission had a very strong defense of what it brought and it was not easy even for the deputies to convince them to change some things”, the deputy recalled.
This, according to David Mendes, proves right to the deputies who questioned many matters contained in this code, because “the practical application is very different from the theoretical and it must not be forgotten that many deputies are lawyers and are in constant contact with the codes”.
The jurist also urged parliamentarians to take this opportunity to ask for some changes that are deemed necessary.
Jurist considers reconsideration assertive measure
Contacted by Jornal de Angola, Hélder Samoli, a lawyer and specialist in Criminal Law, considered that, despite the re-examination taking place shortly after the approval of the Criminal Procedure Code, the decision is assertive, taking into account that it will guarantee the effectiveness of the rights of defendants and victims.
The review, he warned, will not be in general, but only in some points with regard to the procedural procedure. “With this, the President of the Republic intends to speed up the criminal procedure, in order to guarantee the effectiveness of the rights of both the defendants and the victims, in terms of preparatory instruction and not only”, he clarified.
“In Criminal Law, when the process is slow, justice is never fair. The longer the process, however much justice is intended, it is never full justice,” he said.
Somali insisted that “the faster the justice, the better, because everyone wants to see the procedural process speed up and, in this, the guarantees of the parties, as well as their interests, are safeguarded”.
Public Appropriation Law Proposal
Just yesterday, the parliamentarians appreciated and approved, also in general, the Joint Report-Opinion on the Draft Law on Public Appropriation, which, if approved, will conform the legal system to the Constitution of the Republic, with emphasis on the provisions of nº. 4 of article 37, which regulates the Law and Limits of Private Property.
Legislative initiative of the Holder of the Executive Power, the project will establish legal limits of its application to safeguard the national interest, whenever it is at stake.
The proposal, says the report, enshrines a legal regime applicable to public appropriation in favor of the State, which constitutes a limitation on the citizens’ right to property. It contains criminal rules through which the transfer of assets from private to public property takes place, based on the procedures provided for in the proposal, which contains three chapters, five sections and 27 articles.
For MPLA deputy João Pinto, the proposed law that is being discussed, in particular, fulfills a social function to safeguard the Property Right and its restriction within the framework of the Constitutional Revision enacted under the terms of Law 18/21, of August 16, 2021.
The same, he said, is in accordance with the legal order and its principles, “a daring innovation” that, in the specialty, should be deeply reflected, because “it will require a debate and reflection on the matter”.
For João Pinto, the proposed law is daring because it moralizes society, but it also raises questions that require the legislator to have the “necessary weight”, not least because, he defended, “good and property must have a social utility”.
Also on Tuesday (22), the draft resolution approving the budget execution report for the 2019 financial year was also discussed and approved.
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