The end of the month of February as well as the beginning of the month of March provided a considerable amount of new legal diplomas, among others, the Law no. 8/17, of 13 March, which approved the Law on Legal Profession, and revoked its predecessor, the Law no.º 1/95, of 6 January, as well as the Article 7 No. 2 of the Law no. 16/16, of 30 September, which approved the Law on Associations and Attorneys Associations.
The Law on Legal Profession establishes a (new) legal regime regarding the exercise of the legal profession in Angola, as well as defining the proper acts on the legal profession and new regime on the responsibility for the illegal exercise of the profession. For the terms and purposes of the aforementioned law, the exercise of the legal profession encompasses the following:
- The regular exercise of the judicial mandate and the legal representation;
- The provision of legal assistance, in every legal ways, as required by all the public and private entities;
- Representation or defence, before any entity, of the best interests of the constituents.
The criminalization of the illegal exercise of the legal profession is one of the biggest innovations of the aforementioned law. Thus, the practice of acts connected with the legal profession, including the visit and provision of legal guidance to clients in Angolan territory, shall be deemed as a crime of illegal exercise of the legal profession and punished under the terms of the Angolan Criminal Law. In addition, is clearly forbidden the promotion, dissemination or disclosure of the proper acts on the legal profession, provided that are carried out by natural or legal persons non-authorized to such practice.
The Law no. 8/17, of 13 March, entered into force on the date of its publication (13 March).