Mozambique: President promulgates revision of SERNIC Law

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Mozambique: President promulgates revision of SERNIC Law

12:23 CAT | 16 Jun 2025

File photo: AIM

The President of the Republic, Daniel Chapo, promulgated and ordered the publication of the law that revises the law creating the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC), amended and approved by consensus, at the end of last May, by the Assembly of the Republic, the Mozambican parliament.

A press release from the presidency sent to AIM on Friday states that the president acted in exercise of the powers conferred on him by the Constitution, and after having verified that the law is consistent with the Main Law.

Therefore, SERNIC will now be under the supervision of the Attorney General of the Republic. Previously, it was under the supervision of the Minister of the Interior.

The revision of the law that creates SERNIC arose due to the fact that, in the institutional structure that was in force, SERNIC had some constraints inherent to its nature, organization and functioning in view of the challenges of criminal investigation, as well as the changes made to the structure of the judiciary and criminal legislation.

Another factor that contributed to the change in the SERNIC law was the fact that, in terms of its mission, it is an essentially investigative and technical-criminal body, which does not fit with its current typology as an administrative public service.

As an auxiliary body of the judicial authorities resulting from the fact that, at the time, it was under the supervision of the Minister of the Interior, SERNIC conflicted with the principle of separation of executive and judicial powers.

Therefore, the Attorney General of the Republic will henceforward propose the appointment of the director-general and his deputy of SERNIC, and will appoint and dismiss the national inspector, national directors, directors of specialized units and provincial directors.

SERNIC is made up of specialized units, particularly those for the Prevention and Combating of Cybercrime; Financial and Accounting Expertise; Combating Corruption; and Asset Recovery.

Source: AIM Moçambique