Timor-Leste

• The Constitution of 2002, the highest law
• Codes and statutes, mainly on Portuguese models
• Regulations made by the UN administration, some of which remain in force
• Customary law (lisan), in family, land and local matters

• The Court of Appeal, which acts as the highest court
• District courts, in several districts
• Customary mediation by local leaders, outside the formal courts

A law degree, often with Portuguese-language training, and registration with the Bar Association.

• It has two official languages, Tetum and Portuguese, but many laws have been written in Portuguese.
• United Nations regulations from 1999 to 2002 still form part of the law.
• Customary leaders settle many disputes outside the courts.

Portugal, Indonesia, Mozambique, Cabo Verde, Angola

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Timor-Leste as: Civil law, Muslim, Customary. 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.

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria.

• JuriGlobe: world legal systems (University of Ottawa)
• Constitute Project: constitution of Timor-Leste

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.