Mozambique
Customary law is a leading source
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Mozambique is a civil-law country whose private law comes from Portugal. Its Constitution (2004) recognises customary law and community courts alongside the formal courts. The map lists customary law first because that is how JuriGlobe describes it.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Where the law comes from
- The Constitution of 2004, the highest law
- Codes and statutes, many inherited from Portugal and amended since independence in 1975
- Decisions of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Council
- Customary law and the decisions of community courts, which the Constitution recognises
The main courts
- The Supreme Court at the top of the ordinary courts
- The Constitutional Council, which reviews laws
- Provincial and district courts, and community courts for small local disputes
Becoming a lawyer
A law degree, then a traineeship and registration with the Mozambican Bar Association.
What may surprise you
- Community courts deal with small local disputes using local custom and common sense.
- The constitutional review body is a council, not a court.
- Private law still follows the Portuguese model.
- Customary and formal systems work side by side, especially in rural areas.
Related systems
How this country is classified
The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Mozambique as: Customary, Civil law. It names the systems in order of importance.
The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.
Other countries in the same family
Sources
Sources last reviewed: October 2026.
TheLawToKnow Tools’s Legal Families Atlas is an educational overview. It simplifies on purpose, and it is not legal advice. For a real legal question about Mozambique, consult a lawyer qualified there. Report a mistake.
