Legal System of Macau

Macau is located in East N Southeast Asia. It is geographically situated in eastern asia, bordering the south china sea and china. The country achieved independence on none (special administrative region of china).

Government Overview

Government Type: executive-led limited democracy; a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China Chief of State: President of China XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013) Head of Government: Chief Executive Sam Hou FAI (since 20 December 2024) Cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the chief executive National Holiday: National Day (anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China), 1 October (1949) Suffrage: 18 years of age in direct elections for some legislative positions, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past 7 years

Legal System

The legal system of Macau is described as civil law system based on the Portuguese model

Constitutional Framework

The constitution has the following history: previous 1976 (Organic Statute of Macau, under Portuguese authority); latest adopted 31 March 1993, effective 20 December 1999 (Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China serves as Macau’s constitution) Amendment Process: proposed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the People’s Republic of China State Council, and the Macau Special Administrative Region; submittal of proposals to the NPC requires two-thirds majority vote by the Legislative Assembly of Macau, approval by two thirds of Macau’s deputies to the NPC, and consent of the Macau chief executive; final passage requires approval by the NPC

Judicial Branch

Highest Court(s): Court of Final Appeal of Macau Special Administrative Region (consists of the court president and 2 associate justices) Judge Selection: justices appointed by the Macau chief executive upon the recommendation of an independent commission of judges, lawyers, and “eminent” persons; judge tenure NA Subordinate Courts: Court of Second Instance; Court of First instance; Lower Court; Administrative Court

Legislative Branch

The legislative structure consists of unicameral

Citizenship and Suffrage

Suffrage: 18 years of age in direct elections for some legislative positions, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past 7 years

Historical Background

Portuguese ships began arriving in 1513. In the 1550s, Portuguese paying tribute to China settled in Macau, which became the official entrepôt for all international trade with China and Japan and the first European settlement in the Far East.  The first governor was appointed in the 17th century, but the Portuguese remained largely under the control of the Chinese.

This article provides a summary of the legal system and governmental structure of Macau based on the CIA World Factbook. The Factbook is a public domain publication of the United States Central Intelligence Agency.