Beyond the laws: stories of justice that have transformed communities in Cape Verde

Behind every statute lie real changes in how families inherit, how land changes hands, who counts as Cabo Verdean and how disputes reach a court. This page tells those stories the honest way: instead of anecdotes, it presents documented legal developments (each one traced to an official instrument or a verified source record) and explains what changed and who the change protects. No invented heroes, no unnamed cases: just laws, dates and their documented effects.

A Constitution that protects life: no death penalty

The Constitution in force guarantees the right to life and to physical and moral integrity, and expressly prohibits the death penalty (art. 28 of the Constitution, Part II, verified in the consolidated 2010 text published by the National Parliament). Cabo Verde went further internationally: on 19 May 2000 it acceded to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the treaty aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, as recorded in the United Nations treaty collection. Who it protects: every person subject to Cabo Verdean jurisdiction, for whom the ultimate irreversible punishment is constitutionally excluded.

1997: family law codified in the Civil Code

By Legislative Decree No. 12-C/97 of 30 June, Cabo Verde revoked the 1981 Family Code and reintegrated family-law rules into the Civil Code of 1997, where they remain today as the Family Law Book. This codification is the basis on which marriages are celebrated, divorces granted and successions opened in Cabo Verde: the rules our guides on marriage, divorce and succession trace back to. Who it protects: spouses, children and heirs, who rely on a single, coherent code instead of scattered statutes.

2007: the land reform and security of tenure

The land package of 19 July 2007 (published in Official Gazette Series I No. 26, 1st Supplement) reshaped how land is held and developed: Legislative Decree No. 2/2007 set the legal regime of soils, classifying land and organising its use, and Legislative Decree No. 3/2007 regulated expropriation for public utility, which is only lawful with fair compensation. Who it protects: landholders and buyers, who gained clearer rules of tenure, and communities, which keep a legal safeguard against arbitrary takings, a foundation for the property market our property-law guide describes.

2023: a new nationality law for a diaspora nation

Law No. 33/X/2023 of 22 August revoked and replaced the Nationality Law of 1995 (Lei No. 79/VII/95): it redefined acquisition of nationality by marriage (with a minimum period of five years) and reinforced the rules on loss of nationality for fraud. It was amended by Law No. 37/X/2024 of 22 March and regulated by Decree-Law No. 29/2024. For a country with more nationals abroad than in the islands, these rules decide real lives: who may hold a Cabo Verdean passport, transmit nationality to children and keep it across generations. Who it protects: the diaspora, foreign spouses and descendants, whose paths to and retention of nationality are now set by a single modern statute: see our citizenship guide.

2026: a dedicated statute for children and adolescents

Law No. 72/X/2026 of 22 April approved the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA), in force in Cabo Verde, with its official text published in the Electronic Official Gazette. It gathers into one instrument the protections that earlier appeared across scattered legislation. Who it protects: children and adolescents, whose rights and protections are now defined in a dedicated code, building on the constitutional prohibition of child labour (art. 74 of the Constitution).

Justice goes electronic

Modernising how a case moves through the system also changes lives: Law No. 33/VIII/2013 of 16 July established the legal regime for the use of electronic means in the processing of judicial cases, communication of procedural acts and handling of procedural documents (the text was rectified in Official Gazette Series I No. 50 of 24 September 2013). It is the legal foundation on which later digitalisation of the courts builds. Who it protects: litigants, who gain swifter, traceable communication with the courts.

Why these milestones matter

None of these changes is a courtroom anecdote; each is a structural shift whose effects reach communities daily: from the family court to the land registry, the consulate and the criminal courtroom. They also show a pattern: Cabo Verde’s major justice reforms are written, published and verifiable, which is precisely what makes rights enforceable.

When to speak with a lawyer

If one of these areas touches your life (nationality, family status, land, children’s rights), a lawyer can translate the instruments into steps for your specific case. The directory lists lawyers working in human rights.

This page is general information, not legal advice.