Law No. 3/08 of 17 June — Constitutional Procedure Law

Article 1 (Subject matter)#

This Law establishes and regulates the procedure in cases subject to the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court.

Article 2 (Subsidiary legislation)#

The rules of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply, with the necessary adaptations, to proceedings of a legal-constitutional nature in all matters not expressly provided for in the legislation governing the Constitutional Court.

Article 3 (Types of proceedings)#

The following are the types of proceedings subject to the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court:

(a) prior review proceedings;

(b) subsequent review proceedings;

(c) proceedings for review of unconstitutionality by omission;

(d) ordinary appeal on grounds of unconstitutionality;

(e) extraordinary appeal on grounds of unconstitutionality;

(f) proceedings concerning candidacies for President of the Republic and for Members of the National Assembly;

(g) proceedings concerning electoral disputes;

(h) proceedings concerning referendums;

(i) proceedings concerning parliamentary disputes;

(j) proceedings concerning political parties and coalitions;

(k) electoral registration disputes;

(l) consultation proceedings on the implementation of the Constitution.

Article 4 (Filing and registration of applications)#

1. The petitions in all proceedings within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court shall be filed with the Judicial Registry and, once registered, shall be referred to the President of the Constitutional Court for a decision on their admission or rejection.
2. Unless a different time limit results from the law, the maximum time limit for the Judicial Registry to register all applications and forward them to the President of the Court shall be 24 hours.

Article 5 (Preliminary examination of the application)#

1. It shall be for the President of the Court to decide on the admission of the application.

2. A decision of the President of the Court admitting the application shall not prevent the Plenary of the Court from ultimately rejecting it.

3. An appeal shall lie to the Plenary of the Constitutional Court against a decision of the President of the Court rejecting the application.

4. The President of the Constitutional Court may, at his or her discretion, consult the other Justices of the Court beforehand, before deciding on the admission or rejection of the application.
5. The decision admitting and the decision not admitting the application shall be notified to the applicant entity within 24 hours of the delivery of the respective order.

Article 6 (Requirements of the application)#

1. The application by which the action is brought shall:

(a) identify the proponent;

(b) identify the opposing party, if any;

(c) indicate the type of proceedings;

(d) set out the facts on which the action is based;

(e) set out the legal grounds on which the action is based;

(f) state the request.

1. In concrete review proceedings, the application shall, in addition to what is laid down in the preceding paragraph, comply with the other requirements laid down in the Code of Civil Procedure.

Article 7 (Order to rectify the application)#

1. Where the application is not accompanied by the necessary documents, or presents irregularities or deficiencies liable to jeopardise the success of the action, the President of the Court may, by order, invite the applicant to complete or correct the application, setting a time limit for that purpose.
2. The maximum time limit to be granted for the rectification of the application shall be up to five days.

Article 8 (Rejection of the application)#

1. The application shall be rejected where:

(a) it is made by a person or entity without standing;

(b) it has been filed out of time;

(c) the deficiencies it presents have not been remedied.

1. An appeal shall lie to the Plenary of Justices against the order of the President of the Court not admitting the application, to be lodged by the applicant or an interested party, accompanied by the respective written submissions, within up to eight days from the date of notification of the order.

Article 9 (Allocation)#

1. Once the application has been admitted, it shall be forwarded for allocation.
2. The rules of the Code of Civil Procedure relating to the Higher Courts shall apply to allocation in matters not specifically regulated in this instrument.
3. The President of the Court shall not be included in the rota for the allocation and substitution of rapporteurs, without prejudice to his or her power to take over cases as rapporteur.

Article 10 (Request for information)#

The President of the Constitutional Court or the Justice Rapporteur may request from any entity whatever information they consider necessary or appropriate for the examination of the request and the decision of the case.

Article 11 (Powers of cognisance)#

The Court shall examine only the unconstitutionality of norms whose review has been requested, but may declare such unconstitutionality on the grounds of violation of constitutional norms or principles other than those invoked by the applicant.

Article 12 (Withdrawal of the application)#

Withdrawal of the application shall be admissible only:

(a) in proceedings for prior review of constitutionality;

(b) in constitutionality appeals in which the unconstitutionality of a legal norm is not raised.

Article 13 (Notification)#

1. The general provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply, with the necessary adaptations, to notifications in constitutional proceedings, in particular by delivery against acknowledgement of receipt, by post, by telefax or by electronic mail, as the circumstances require.
2. In addition to other means, notices of notification may be sent using all available technological and communication means.

Article 14 (Time limits)#

1. The time limits provided for in this Law are continuous.
2. Where the time limit for the performance of a procedural act ends on a day on which the Court is closed, including days on which an official day off is granted, its expiry shall be carried over to the next working day.
3. The time limits established in this Law or set by the Court for the performance of any act or the fulfilment of any formality shall run from the date on which the act to be performed or the formality to be fulfilled becomes known.
4. Time limits in abstract review proceedings shall not be suspended during the judicial vacations, except in concrete review proceedings.

Article 15 (Costs)#

The proceedings provided for in this Law shall be exempt from costs, with the exception of concrete review proceedings, to which the general costs regime established in the Code of Court Costs and supplementary legislation shall apply.

Article 16 (Hearing of the body that issued the norm)#

1. Once the application has been admitted, the President of the Constitutional Court shall notify the body that approved the challenged norm so that it may, if it so wishes, give its views.
2. The body that issued the norm shall give its views within the following time limits:

(a) five days, in prior review proceedings;

(b) 15 days, in subsequent review proceedings and proceedings for review of unconstitutional omissions.

Article 17 (Identical requests)#

Once an application has been admitted, all other applications with an identical subject matter that are subsequently filed and admitted by the Constitutional Court shall be joined to it.

Article 18 (Extension of time limits)#

The President of the Court may extend the time limits relating to abstract review, whether prior or subsequent, provided for in this Chapter, provided that the final decision in the respective proceedings can be taken within the maximum time limit of 45 days laid down in Article 157 of the Constitutional Law.

Article 19 (Jurisdiction of the Plenary)#

The Plenary of Justices of the Constitutional Court shall have jurisdiction to decide all proceedings for abstract review of constitutionality provided for and regulated in Chapter II of this Law.

Article 20 (Scope)#

1. Under the terms of Article 154(1) of the Constitutional Law, prior review of the constitutionality of any norm contained in an instrument subject to promulgation, signature and ratification may be requested, in particular of norms contained in:

(a) a law;

(b) a decree-law;

(c) a decree;

(d) an international treaty.

1. The following shall be subject to mandatory prior review:

(a) draft laws submitted to referendum;

(b) draft amendments to the Constitutional Law.

Article 21 (Standing)#

The following entities shall have standing to request the Constitutional Court to carry out prior review of any norms:

(a) the President of the Republic;

(b) 1/5 of the Members of the National Assembly in office.

Article 22 (Timing of the application)#

1. Prior review of constitutionality may be requested from the moment the competent body approves the instrument containing the norm whose review is to be requested.
2. Prior review of a norm may not be requested after the date of promulgation, signature or ratification of the instrument or treaty by the President of the Republic.
3. Once the application for prior review has been admitted, the President of the Constitutional Court shall immediately inform the President of the Republic of that fact for the purposes of suspending the procedure of promulgation, signature or ratification, pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article … of the Constitutional Law.

Article 23 (Procedure and time limits)#

1. Upon receipt of the application, the Judicial Registry shall have 24 hours to register it and refer it to the President of the Court.
2. The President of the Court shall, within 48 hours:

(a) decide on its admission;

(b) exercise the powers provided for in Articles 7 and 10 of this Law;

(c) request that the body that issued the norm give its views, under the terms of Article 14 of this Law;

(d) allocate the case.

1. Upon receipt of the reply of the body that issued the norm submitted for review, the Judicial Registry shall forward it to the Judge Rapporteur of the case.
2. Once the case, including the views of the body that issued the norm, has been referred to the rapporteur, the rapporteur shall, within five days, prepare a draft judgment identifying the questions on which the Court must rule, proposing the corresponding solutions and indicating the respective grounds.
3. The time limit for the preparation of the memorandum provided for in the preceding paragraph shall run from the date of delivery of the views of the body that issued the norm or, failing such delivery, from the expiry of the time limit laid down in subparagraph (a) of paragraph 2 of Article … of this Law.
4. The Judicial Registry shall send a copy of the application, of the reply of the body that issued the norm and of the memorandum to the President of the Court, to each of the other Justices and to the representative of the Public Prosecution Service, as they are received and registered.
5. Upon delivery of the memorandum to the President of the Court, the case shall be referred to him or her for entry on the agenda of a session of the Plenary of Justices of the Court.
6. The maximum time limit for adjudication and final decision by the Plenary shall be 10 days from the date of receipt of the information provided in the case by the body that issued the norm.

Article 24 (Communication of the decision)#

Once the decision has been delivered, it shall be communicated, within 24 hours, to the President of the Republic and to the author of the request for prior review, if it was not that entity that requested it.

Article 25 (Effects of the decision)#

1. Where the unconstitutionality of the norm reviewed is declared, the instrument shall be vetoed by the President of the Republic and returned by him or her to the body that approved it so that it may remove from the instrument the norm or norms ruled upon and held to be unconstitutional.
2. Once the instrument has been corrected under the terms of the preceding paragraph, prior review of constitutionality may again be requested, in the event that the entities with standing to do so consider that, even after correction, the draft instrument still contains unconstitutional norms.

Article 26 (Scope of subsequent review)#

1. Under the terms of Article 155(1) of the Constitutional Law, subsequent review of the constitutionality of any norm contained in an instrument published in the Official Gazette (Diário da República) may be requested, in particular of a law, decree-law, decree, resolution or international treaty.
2. Norms contained in instruments approved by referendum may not be submitted to subsequent abstract review.

Article 27 (Standing)

The following entities shall have standing to request the Constitutional Court to carry out subsequent abstract review of any norms:

(a) the President of the Republic;

(b) 1/5 of the Members of the National Assembly in office;

(c) the Prime Minister;

(d) the Attorney General of the Republic.

Article 28 (Time limit for filing the application)#

The request for review of constitutionality provided for in Article 155(1) of the Constitutional Law shall not be subject to any time limit and may be filed at any time while the norm remains in force.

Article 29 (Procedure and time limits)#

1. Upon receipt of the application, the Judicial Registry shall have 24 hours to register it and refer it to the President of the Court.
2. The President of the Court shall, within five days:

(a) issue an order admitting or rejecting the application;

(b) exercise the powers provided for in Articles 7 and 10 of this Law;

(c) request that the body that issued the norm give its views under the terms and within the time limit laid down in subparagraph (b)

of Article 16(2) of this Law;

(d) allocate the case.

1. Upon receipt of the reply of the body that issued the norm submitted for review, the Judicial Registry shall forward it to the Judge Rapporteur.
2. The Judge Rapporteur of the case shall, within 15 days, prepare a draft judgment identifying the questions on which the Court must rule, proposing the corresponding solutions and indicating the respective grounds.
3. The time limit for the preparation of the memorandum provided for in the preceding paragraph shall run from the date of delivery of the views of the body that issued the norm or, failing such delivery, from the expiry of the time limit laid down in subparagraph (b) of paragraph 2 of Article … of this Law.
4. The Judicial Registry shall send a copy of the application, of the reply of the body that issued the norm and of the memorandum to the President of the Court, to each of the other Justices and to the representative of the Public Prosecution Service, as they are received and registered.
5. Upon delivery of the memorandum to the President of the Court, the case shall be referred to him or her for entry on the agenda of a session of the Plenary of Justices of the Court.
6. The maximum time limit for adjudication and final decision of the case by the Plenary shall be 10 days from the date on which the case is referred to the President of the Court as provided for in the preceding paragraph.

Article 30 (Effects of the decision)#

1. A norm declared unconstitutional in subsequent abstract review proceedings shall be null and void.
2. Pursuant to Article 155 of the Constitutional Law, the declaration of unconstitutionality shall have generally binding force and shall produce the following effects:

(a) in cases of original unconstitutionality, the judgment shall take effect from the entry into force of the norm declared unconstitutional;

(b) in cases of supervening unconstitutionality, the judgment shall take effect from the entry into force of the constitutional norm.

1. The provisions of the preceding paragraphs shall not affect the validity of court decisions that have become final, save as provided in the preceding paragraph.
2. In the case provided for in the preceding paragraph, where the norm declared unconstitutional is of a criminal or disciplinary nature or concerns an administrative offence and is less favourable to the accused, the Constitutional Court may determine that the decision shall take effect from its entry into force or from the entry into force of the subsequent constitutional norm, as the case may be.

3. The Constitutional Court may restrict the scope of the effects established in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article where public interests of exceptional relevance, duly substantiated, or reasons of justice and legal certainty are at stake, in particular the need to safeguard legal situations already definitively established and rights acquired in the light of the norm declared unconstitutional.

4. The judgment shall entail the revival of the norms that were repealed by the norm declared unconstitutional.

Article 31 (Scope of review of unconstitutionality by omission)#

Review may be requested of failure to comply with the Constitutional Law through the omission of the measures necessary to give effect to constitutional norms, in particular measures of a legislative and regulatory nature, as provided for in subparagraph (c) of Article 134 of the Constitutional Law.

Article 32 (Standing)#

The following entities shall have standing to request the Constitutional Court to review unconstitutionality by omission:

(a) the President of the Republic;

(b) 1/5 of the Members of the National Assembly in office;

(c) the Attorney General of the Republic.

Article 33 (Time limit for the application)#

The entities referred to in the preceding Article may request review of unconstitutional omissions at any time.

Article 34 (Procedure and time limits)#

1. Upon receipt of the application, the Judicial Registry shall register it and refer it to the President of the Court within 48
2. The President of the Court shall:

(a) prepare, within 15 days, a memorandum on the application submitted;

(b) convene the Justices of the Court for a preliminary examination of the application and of its admission, the debate to take place within up to 30 days after the preparation of the memorandum;

(c) issue, as the case may be, an order to rectify, admit or reject the application, on the basis of the views of the Justices referred to in the preceding subparagraph;

(d) allocate the case;

(e) request the bodies directly concerned with the matters under examination by the Court to give their views within up to 30 days from the respective notification.

1. Upon receipt of the views referred to in subparagraph (e) of the preceding paragraph, the Judicial Registry shall forward them to the Judge Rapporteur, who shall have 30 days to prepare the draft judgment.
2. The time limit for the preparation of the draft judgment provided for in the preceding paragraph shall run from the date of delivery of the views referred to in subparagraph (e) of paragraph 2 of this Article.
3. The Judicial Registry shall send a copy of the application, of the memorandum, of the views of the bodies concerned and of the draft judgment to the other Justices and to the representative of the Public Prosecution Service, as they are received and registered.
4. Upon delivery of the draft judgment to the President of the Court, the case shall be referred to him or her for entry on the agenda of a session of the Plenary of Justices of the Court.
5. The maximum time limit for adjudication and final decision of the case shall be 60 days from the date on which the case is referred to the President of the Court as provided for in the preceding paragraph.

Article 35 (Effects of the decision)#

Where the existence of unconstitutionality by omission has been established and declared, the Constitutional Court shall inform the competent body or bodies of that fact, indicating a reasonable time limit for remedying the gap or failure to act.

Article 36 (Scope of the appeal)#

1. Judgments of the other courts may be the subject of an ordinary appeal on grounds of unconstitutionality to the Constitutional Court where they:

(a) refuse to apply any norm on the grounds of unconstitutionality;

(b) apply a norm whose unconstitutionality was raised during the proceedings;

(c) apply a norm previously held unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court;

(d) refuse to apply norms on the grounds that they violate an international convention to which Angola is a party;

(e) apply a norm contained in an international convention in a manner inconsistent with a judgment previously delivered by the Constitutional Court.

1. The appeals on grounds of unconstitutionality provided for in this Article are incidental in nature and are restricted to the question of unconstitutionality raised.
2. This ordinary appeal on grounds of unconstitutionality may be lodged only against a final judgment delivered by the trial court.

Article 37 (Standing)#

1. The following may lodge an ordinary constitutionality appeal with the Constitutional Court:

(a) the Public Prosecution Service;

(b) persons who, under the law governing the proceedings in which the decision was delivered, have standing to lodge an ordinary appeal against it, provided that they raised the unconstitutionality before the court that delivered the decision appealed from, in such terms that that court was bound to examine it.

1. An appeal lodged by the Public Prosecution Service shall benefit all those who have standing to appeal.

Article 38 (Time limit for lodging the appeal)#

The time limit for lodging an appeal with the Constitutional Court shall be eight days from the date of notification of the judgment.

Article 39 (Applicable legislation)#

The rules of the Code of Civil Procedure relating to appeals by way of apelação shall apply subsidiarily, with the necessary adaptations, to the procedure for ordinary appeals on grounds of unconstitutionality to the Constitutional Court.

Article 40 (Legal representation)#

In ordinary appeals on grounds of unconstitutionality to the Constitutional Court, representation by a lawyer currently registered with the Angolan Bar Association shall be mandatory.

Article 41 (Application lodging the appeal)#

1.The appeal shall be lodged with the trial court by means of an application indicating:

(a) the specific decision appealed against;

(b) the norm or principle whose constitutionality was raised and which the Constitutional Court is requested to review;

(c) the procedural document or step in which the appellant raised the question of unconstitutionality.

1. In the case of an appeal on the grounds of the application of a norm previously held unconstitutional, the application shall also identify the decision of the Constitutional Court in which the unconstitutionality was declared.
2. Where the application lodging the appeal does not indicate the information referred to in this Article, the trial judge shall invite the applicant to provide that information within 10 days.
3. The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be applied by the rapporteur in the Constitutional Court where the judge who admitted the appeal has not issued the invitation referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article.
4. If the applicant fails to respond to the invitation issued by the rapporteur in the Constitutional Court, the appeal shall be deemed abandoned.

Article 42 (Decision on admissibility)#

1. It shall be for the court that delivered the decision appealed from to rule on the admission of the respective appeal.
2. The decision on the admission of the appeal shall be taken by the trial judge within a maximum time limit of up to five days from the date on which the application lodging the appeal is entered at the registry.
3. The appeal shall be rejected:

(a) where it does not meet the requirements of the application lodging the appeal, even after the requested remedying of defects;

(b) where the appeal has been lodged out of time;

(c) where the applicant lacks standing.

1. The decision admitting the appeal or determining its effect shall not bind the Constitutional Court, and the parties may challenge it only in their written submissions.
2. A complaint against an order rejecting the application lodging the appeal or withholding its transmission may be lodged directly with the Constitutional Court, with notice to the trial judge.

Article 43 (Complaint against an order refusing admission of the appeal)#

1. It shall be for the President of the Constitutional Court to hear and decide complaints against orders rejecting the application for appeal or withholding its transmission.
2. If the decision revokes the order of rejection, it shall constitute res judicata as regards the admissibility of the appeal.

Article 44 (Effect of the appeal and manner of transmission)#

The lodging of an ordinary appeal on grounds of unconstitutionality:

(a) shall have suspensive effect;

(b) shall go up in the case file itself;

(c) shall suspend the time limits for any other appeals provided for in the Code of Civil Procedure that may lie.

Article 45 (Written submissions in the appeal)#

The written submissions shall be filed with the Constitutional Court.

Article 46 (Appeal to the Plenary)#

1. An appeal to the Plenary of the Constitutional Court shall be admissible where the question of unconstitutionality has been decided by the relevant Chamber and that decision is contrary to previous decisions also delivered by the Constitutional Court in respect of the same norm.
2. The appeal provided for in the preceding paragraph shall be governed by the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure relating to appeals for the harmonisation of case law.

Article 47 (Effects of the decision)#

1. The decision of the Constitutional Court on the appeal shall constitute res judicata in the proceedings as regards the question of unconstitutionality raised, and only in the proceedings in which it was raised.
2. If the Constitutional Court allows the appeal, even if only in part, the case file shall be remitted to the court from which it came so that the latter may amend the decision in accordance with the ruling on the question of unconstitutionality.
3. Where the ruling on the constitutionality of the norm which the decision appealed from applied, or refused to apply, is based on a particular interpretation of that norm, the norm shall be applied with that interpretation in the proceedings concerned.

Article 48 (Register of decisions)#

All decisions of the Constitutional Court declaring the unconstitutionality of a norm shall be entered in a dedicated register book and a copy, authenticated by the Judicial Secretary, shall be kept in the archive of the Court, without prejudice to the use of technological means for data archiving.

Article 49 (Scope of the appeal)#

The following may be the subject of an extraordinary appeal on grounds of unconstitutionality to the Constitutional Court:

(a) judgments of the other courts containing legal grounds and decisions that contravene principles, rights, freedoms and guarantees provided for in the Constitutional Law;

(b) final and enforceable administrative acts that contravene principles, rights, freedoms and guarantees provided for in the Constitutional Law.

Article 50 (Standing)#

The following shall have standing to lodge an extraordinary appeal:

(a) in the case of judgments, the Public Prosecution Service and persons who, under the law governing the proceedings in which the judgment was delivered, have standing to lodge an ordinary appeal against it may lodge an extraordinary appeal on grounds of unconstitutionality with the Constitutional Court;

(b) in the case of the acts referred to in subparagraph (b) of the preceding Article, persons who have standing to challenge them in contentious proceedings, under the terms of the law, may lodge an extraordinary appeal on grounds of unconstitutionality with the Constitutional Court.

Article 51 (Time limit for lodging the appeal)#

1. The time limit for lodging the appeal provided for in subparagraph (a) of Article 49 of this Law shall be eight days from the date of notification of the judgment.
2. The time limit for lodging the appeal provided for in subparagraph (b) of Article 49 of this Law shall be 60 days from the date on which the challenged act became known.

Article 52 (Applicable legislation)#

1. The provisions of the preceding Section shall apply to the procedure for extraordinary appeals on grounds of unconstitutionality against the judgments provided for in subparagraph (a) of Article … of this Law.
2. The provisions of Decree-Law No. 4-A/96 of 5 April shall apply, with the necessary adaptations, to the procedure for the extraordinary appeal on grounds of unconstitutionality provided for in subparagraph (b) of Article … of this Law.

Article 53 (Jurisdiction)#

The Plenary of Justices of the Constitutional Court shall have jurisdiction to decide the extraordinary appeals on grounds of unconstitutionality provided for in Article 49 of this Law.

Article 54 (Standing to submit candidacies)#

The entities referred to in Article 42 of the Electoral Law shall have standing to submit candidacies.

Article 55 (Form, time limits and procedures for the submission of candidacies)#

The form, time limits and procedures for the submission of candidacies in presidential and legislative elections shall be governed by the provisions of the Electoral Law.

Article 56 (Complaint and challenge proceedings)#

Proceedings concerning challenges and complaints regarding candidacies shall be governed by the provisions of the Electoral Law.

Article 57 (Scope)#

Under the terms of Articles 7 and 164 of the Electoral Law, irregularities occurring during voting or in the partial or national counting of the results may be challenged before the Constitutional Court, provided that a complaint was made about them in the course of the acts during which they occurred.

Article 58 (Procedure and proceedings)#

Proceedings concerning challenges before the Constitutional Court to the irregularities referred to in the preceding Article shall be governed by the provisions of the Electoral Law.

Article 59 (Cross-reference)#

Proceedings for the review of the constitutionality of referendums shall be governed by a specific law establishing the respective regime.

Article 60 (Subject-matter scope)#

1. Final resolutions of the National Assembly on the following matters may be challenged before the Constitutional Court on the grounds of violation of the Constitutional Law, of the laws or of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly:

(a) verification of the mandate of Members of the National Assembly;

(b) loss of mandate;

(c) replacement of Members of the National Assembly;

(d) suspension of mandate;

(e) resignation of mandate.

1. Other decisions of the National Assembly may also be challenged before the Constitutional Court, provided that they have been the subject of a resolution of the Plenary and constitute a violation of the Constitutional Law and of norms of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly and of the Organic Law on the Statute of Members of the National Assembly.

Article 61 (Standing)#

The following shall have standing to challenge before the Constitutional Court the resolutions provided for in the preceding Article:

(a) the Member of the National Assembly whose mandate is at issue;

(b) any parliamentary group;

(c) a minimum of 10 Members of the National Assembly in office.

Article 62 (Procedure and time limits)#

1. The application shall be submitted to the Judicial Registry of the Constitutional Court, which shall register it and present it to the President of the Court within 48 hours.
2. The President of the Constitutional Court shall, within up to eight days:

(a) notify the President of the National Assembly of the opening of the proceedings, inviting him or her to give views on the application within up to 30 days:

(b) where he or she considers it necessary for the examination of the case, likewise invite the Chairs of Parliamentary Groups to give their views within the time limit provided for in the preceding subparagraph;

(c) invite the applicant to complete the application or to provide any other information he or she considers necessary for the adjudication of the case, within eight days;

(d) allocate the case.

1. Once the time limits provided for in the subparagraphs of the preceding paragraph have elapsed, the rapporteur shall, within the following 90 days, prepare a draft judgment and refer the case to the President of the Court, with a copy to the other Justices and to the Public Prosecution Service, for entry on the agenda of a session of the Plenary of Justices of the Court.

Article 63 (Scope)#

1. Within the scope of its jurisdiction in matters relating to political parties, the Constitutional Court shall examine proceedings concerning:

(a) the accreditation of the founding committees of political parties, under the terms of Article 13 of Law No. 2/05 — Political Parties Law;

(b) the establishment of political parties, under the terms of Article 14 of Law No. 2/05 — Political Parties Law;

(c) the review of the legality of the requirements for the formation of coalitions, under the terms of Article 46(3) and (5) of the Electoral Law and of Article 35 of Law No. 2/05 — Political Parties Law;

(d) challenges to elections and resolutions of organs of political parties, or the resolution of any internal disputes arising from the application of party statutes and conventions, under the terms of Article 28(2) of Law No. 2/05 — Political Parties Law;

(e) the dissolution of political parties, under the terms of Article 33 of Law No. 2/05 — Political Parties Law;

(f) other proceedings assigned by law to the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court.

1. The jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court shall also include:

(a) cancelling the accreditation and authorisation granted to the founding committee of a political party where it has not applied for the formation of the party within the legal time limit, under the terms of Article 13(6) of the Political Parties Law;

(b) recording, for verification purposes, the names and criminal record certificates of the holders of central organs, accompanied by the election minutes, the programmes and the statutes, once established or amended by the competent bodies of the party, under the terms of Article 20(4) of the Political Parties Law;

(c) recording the international affiliation of any political party, under the terms of Article 32(2) of the Political Parties Law.

Article 64 (Proceedings within the jurisdiction of the President)#

1. The proceedings referred to in subparagraphs (a) and (b) of Article 63(1) of this Law shall fall within the jurisdiction of the President of the Constitutional Court.
2. The procedure in the proceedings regulated in this Article shall be as follows:

(a) upon receipt of the application, the Judicial Registry shall register it and, within 48 hours, refer it to the President of the Court for a decision on the admission or rejection of the request;

(b) the decision shall be notified to the applicant, who shall have 15 days in which, if he or she so wishes, to challenge it before the Plenary of the Constitutional Court.

Article 65 (Proceedings within the jurisdiction of the Chamber)#

1. The proceedings referred to in subparagraph (c) of paragraph 1 of Article … of this Law shall fall within the jurisdiction of the relevant Chamber of the Constitutional Court.
2. The procedure in these proceedings shall be governed by the provisions of the Electoral Law and of the Political Parties Law.

Article 66 (Proceedings within the jurisdiction of the Plenary)#

1, The proceedings referred to in subparagraphs (d) and (e) of Article 63 of this Law shall fall within the jurisdiction of the Plenary of the Constitutional Court.

2. The procedure in these proceedings shall be as follows:

(a) upon receipt of the application, the Judicial Registry shall register it and refer it to the President of the Court;

(b) once the request has been admitted, the President of the Court shall prepare a memorandum on the application submitted, defining the questions to be examined;

(c) once the memorandum referred to in the preceding paragraph has been prepared, the President of the Court shall have it brought to the attention of the Justices of the Court and shall convene them for a preliminary examination of the application;

(d) once the preliminary debate on the questions under examination has taken place, the President of the Court shall, if necessary, issue an order to rectify the application or an order requesting any information necessary for the examination of any question, and shall immediately allocate the case;

(e) the case shall immediately be referred to the Judge Rapporteur for the preparation of a draft judgment;

(f) upon receipt of the replies of the interested parties or of the information requested, the Judicial Registry shall immediately forward them to the Judge Rapporteur, with a copy to the President of the Court and to the other Justices of the Court;

(g) once the draft judgment has been prepared, the case shall be referred to the President of the Court for entry on the agenda of a session of the Plenary.

Article 67 (Scope)#

Decisions of the competent body of the Central Government on irregularities occurring during electoral registration may be challenged before the Constitutional Court, under the terms of Article 49(4) of Law No. 3/05 of 1 July — Electoral Registration Law.

Article 68 (Standing, procedure and time limits)#

Proceedings concerning challenges before the Constitutional Court to irregularities occurring during electoral registration shall comply with the rules on standing, procedure and time limits established in the Electoral Registration Law and in Decree No. 62/05 of 7 September — Regulations of the Electoral Registration Law.

Article 69 (Standing)#

1. Under the terms of subparagraph (n) of Article 16 and of Article 20 of the Organic Law of the Constitutional Court, the President of the Republic, the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers may, by means of an application, request the Constitutional Court to give an opinion on the interpretation and application of constitutional norms.
2. In the cases of the National Assembly and of the Government, the requests shall be preceded by a resolution of the respective collegiate body.

Article 70 (Requirements of the application)#

The application shall set out with the necessary clarity and objectivity the subject of the consultation, the constitutional norms at issue, the doubts of interpretation and the request.

Article 71 (Procedure)#

1. Upon receipt of the application, the President of the Constitutional Court shall, within 15 days:

(a) prepare a memorandum identifying the questions on which the Court must rule and indicating, whenever possible, the corresponding solutions and the respective grounds;

(b) distribute the application and the memorandum to the other Justices and to the Public Prosecution Service;

(c) convene the Justices of the Court for a preliminary examination of the application and of the memorandum, the session to take place within the 30 days following receipt of the application.

1. Once the preliminary examination has been carried out, the case shall proceed to allocation, if the President considers it necessary.
2. The President or the rapporteur, if any, shall adjust the memorandum in accordance with the preliminary debate and prepare the draft judgment containing the opinion of the Court.
3. Once the draft judgment has been prepared, the President shall schedule the session of the Plenary of Justices for debate and approval.
4. The opinion of the Court shall be communicated to the applicant by the President of the Court within 72 hours of its approval.

Article 72 (Pending cases)#

The rules of this Law shall apply, with the necessary adaptations, to pending cases in matters of constitutional law.

Article 73 (Entry into force)#

This Law shall enter into force on the date of its publication.

Article 74 (Doubts and omissions)#

Doubts and omissions arising from the interpretation and application of this Law shall be resolved by the National Assembly.

Seen and approved by the National Assembly, in Luanda, on 10 June 2008.