Mozambique: President enacts Maritime Courts law

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Mozambique: President enacts Maritime Courts law

2:35 CAT | 21 Jun 2022

File photo: Presidency of the Republic

The President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, has enacted and ordered the publication of the law approving the organisation, composition, functioning and powers of Maritime Courts.

A statement received this Monday in our editorial office indicates that the law was recently approved by parliament and submitted to the President of the Republic for promulgation, the head of state verifying that it does not contradict the Constitution of the Republic.

On May 4, 2022, the Mozambican assembly passed a bill to activate maritime courts nationwide, as part of the country’s effort to fight a growing trend of offshore crimes including piracy, illegal fishing, and terrorism.

The bill sets out the structure, operation, and function of the maritime courts, which were approved more than 26 years ago but never came into operation, according to the Minister of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs Helena Kida, who spoke to the press shortly after the assembly session in Maputo.

She said on the occasion that this move would allow maritime jurisdiction cases to be tried in specialist courts designed solely for such incidents, which will help accelerate the process.

The minister said the training of magistrates for these courts was already underway, and that the priority was to set up the courts in regions a higher incidence of offshore crime.

Mozambique has a coastline extending for more than 2,400 km, and over 60% of the country’s population lives in coastal areas.

Source: Rádio Moçambique / Xinhua