security of Macau;
- to take the necessary steps in accordance with the law to ensure public order;
- to legislate, i.e. sign laws and bills and authorise their publication, ensure that laws and regulations are
carried out, pass decrees and write decrees;
- to direct the general policy, define the structures and regulate the monetary and financial markets;
- to guarantee the freedom, fullness of action and independence of the judiciary;
- to supervise the public administration and oversee the finances.
The Governor ensures political co-ordination with the help and advice of seven under-secretaries, who are
nominated and dismissed by the President of the Republic at the Governor’s recommendation.
The Legislative Assembly.
The Legislative Assembly is composed of 23 deputies elected for a four-year term.
Eight deputies are directly elected by the 120,000-strong electorate, and eight deputies are elected
indirectly by bodies representing local interests. Seven deputies are appointed by the Governor from among
those residents held in high esteem by the local community.
The Legislative Assembly has four legislative sessions, each one of which does not, as a rule, exceed eight
months. Each of these sessions may be divided into two or three periods, the first of which beginning on the
15th October each year, and the last ending, in general, on the 15th June of the following year.
The duties of the Legislative Assembly are:
- to ensure constitutional and statutory norms and laws are complied with and to make
recommendations and propose alterations to the Organic Statute of Macau;
- to legislate, in accordance with its mandate, on matters falling outside the jurisdiction or sovereignty of
the Republic or the Governor;
- to grant legislative authorisation to the Governor and ratify or modify any bill proposed by him on matters
which are not his exclusive responsibility;
- to authorise the Governor to raise loans and effect other credit operations in accordance with the law;
- to appraise the actions of the Governor, the under-secretaries and the administration and, on the basis of
detailed justification, veto governmental actions.
The Municipalities. Macau is divided into two urban councils : the peninsula or the city of Macau itself,
and the islands of Taipa and Coloane. Each of them is administered by a an urban councils whose mayor is
nominated by the Governor. Each mayor is answerable their to his respective Executive Committee as well
as the Municipal Assembly. The remaining members are elected either directly or indirectly through local
council elections.
Leal Senado (Loyal Senate)
It is Macau’s urban council. It’s name originates from the time (1580-1640) when Portugal was invaded by
Spain and absorbed into the Spanish Empire and Macau, alone, refused to hoist the Castilian flag. This
deed was duly recognised after the restoration of independence in 1640 when the words “Cidade do Nome
de Deus de Macau, n?o h? outra mais leal” (Macau, city of the Name of God, there is no other more loyal)
were added to the city’s coat of arms.
The Sino-Portuguese Joint Liaison Group And The Sino-Portuguese Land Group
The Joint Liaison Group is a permanent body set up to ease consultation and the exchange of information
between the governments of Portugal and the People’s Republic of China. It has no administrative function
within the territory. The Joint Liaison Group’s duties are the following:
- to consult on the application of the Joint Declaration and its annexes as well as on the actions that both
governments should take in order to maintain and promote, among others, the economic and cultural
relations of the future Macau Special Administrative Region;
- to exchange information and consult on matters relating to the handover in 1999 and other matters to be
agreed upon by both parties.
The Joint Liaison Group consists of ten members, five of which (four permanent members headed by an
ambassador), being appointed by each side. Both parties may also appoint experts and further necessary
support staff, the numbers of which to be decided upon through consultation. The Liaison Group has also
been charged with the analysis and approval of important political and administrative affairs, amongst
which are: the three localizations (law, government personnel and language), the integration of civil
servants, air traffic legislation and Macau’s adherence to the precepts of international organisations. The
Joint Liaison Group meets three times a year in, alternately, Lisbon,
Beijing and Macau.
The Sino-Portuguese Land Group is a body set up by the governments of Portugal and China to deal with
land concession contracts and other related matters in Macau. It consists of three representatives from each
side and those supplementary staff members agreed upon.
The specific functions of the Land Group are:
- to decide upon the total area of land concessions to be granted beyond 20 hectares (the Governor has the
exclusive right to decide up to a limit of 20 hectares per year);
- to decide upon the division and use of the money thereby obtained (divided equally between Macau’s
Portuguese administration and the future Macau Special Administrative Region, once the average cost of
land reclamation has been deducted);
- to submit the government of Macau’s proposals to the Chinese side for the future use of land revenues
which, after 1999, will belong to the Macau Special Administrative Region.
JUDICIAL SYSTEM
INDIA
The Supreme Court is the apex court in the country. The High Court stands at the head of the state’s judicial
administration. Each state is divided into judicial districts presided over by a district and sessions judge,
who is the highest judicicial authority in a district. Below him, there are courts of civil jurisdiction, known
in different states as munsifs, sub-judges, civil judges and the like. Similarly,criminal judiciary comprises
chief judicial magistrate and judicial magistrates of first and second class.
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction. Its exclusive original jurisdiction
extends to all disputes between the Union and one or more states or between two or more states. The
Constitution gives an extensive original jurisdiction to the Supreme Court to enforce Fundamental Rights.
Appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court can be invoked by a certificate of the High Court concerned or
by special leave granted by the Supreme Court in respect of any judgement, decree or final order of a High
Court in cases both civil and criminal, involving substantial questions of law as to
the interpretation of the constitution. The President may consult the Supreme Court on any question of fact
or law of public importance.
The Supreme Court of India comprises of the Chief Justice and not more than 25 other Judges appointed by
the President. Judges hold office till 65 years of age.
High Courts
There are 18 High Courts in the country, three having jurisdiction over more than one state. Bombay High
Court has the jurisdiction over Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Guwahati
High Court, which was earlier known as Assam High Court, has the jurisdiction over Assam, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. Punjab and Haryana High Court has the
jurisdiction over Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.
Among the Union Territories, Delhi alone has had a High Court of its own. The other six Union Territories
come under jurisdiction of different state High Courts.
The Chief Justice of a High Court is appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of
India and the Governor of the state. Each High Court has powers of superintendence over all courts within
its jurisdiction. High Court judges retire at the age of 62.The jurisdiction as well as the laws administered
by a High Court can be altered both by the Union and State Legislatures. Certain High Courts, like those at
Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, have original and appellate jurisdictions. Under the original jurisdiction
suits, where the subject matter is valued at Rs.25,000 or more, can be filed directly in the High Court. Most
High Courts have only appellate jurisdiction.
Lok Adalat
Lok Adalats are voluntary agencies for resolution of disputes through conciliatory method.Legislative
Relations Between the Union and States Under the Constitution, Parliament has the power to make laws for
the whole of or any part of the territory of India. The State Legislatures have the power to make laws for
the States. The subjects on
which legislation can be enacted are specified in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
Parliament has the exclusive right to legislate in respect of items appearing in List I, called the “Union
List”. This list includes area such as defence, foreign affairs, currency, income tax, excise duty, railways,
shipping, posts and telegraphs, etc.
State Legislatures have the exclusive power to make laws in relation to items appearing in List II called the
“State List”. This includes items like public order, police, public health, communications,agriculture,
lotteries, taxes on entertainment and wealth, sales tax and octroi, etc.
Both Parliament and the State Legislatures have the power to legislate in items appearing in List III of the
Constitution which is known as “Concurrent List”. This list includes items like electricity, newspapers,
criminal law, marriage and divorce, stamp duties, trade unions, price controls, etc.
MACAU
Macau’s judicial system is fully autonomous placing a historical obligation on Portugal to ensure that
post-1999 a modern state of law reflecting the particular conditions in the territory ,and respecting and
safeguarding its fundamental rights and freedoms is established. Judicial autonomy is an objective shared
by the governments of Macau, Portugal, and the People’s Republic of China. The Sino-Portuguese Joint
Declaration of 1987 clearly recognises an judicial autonomy, including the power of final adjudication in
the future SAR. As stated in the chapter which refers to fundamental policies, “The courts are to be
independent, free from any interference and only subject to the law”.
The Basic Law envisages three levels of judicial appeal: the Courts of First Instance, a Court of Second
Instance and a Court of Final Appeal. The former will comprise courts of a specialised nature such as the
present Criminal Court. The Special Administrative Region will also have an Administrative Court, appeals
on whose decisions will be heard at the Court of Second Instance.
Macau’s current legal system comprises the Courts of First Instance and the higher courts. In the first case ,
the General Court has the authority of a judicial court and may pass sentence. The Criminal Court,
meanwhile, has control over preparatory instruction and preliminary enquiries. Appeals on decisions taken
in the lower courts in Macau, which until April, 1993 were submitted to the Court of Appeal or the
Supreme Court of Justice in Lisbon, are now heard at Macau’s Supreme Court, established on the 2nd
March, 1992, which has the power of final adjudication. In administrative law, the Supreme Court also
holds the authority to decide in matters of, for example, fiscal and customs law. In lower courts this comes
under the authority of the Administrative Court,whereas all matters relating to the financial control of the
administration, public services and local authorities fall under the jurisdiction of the Audit Court which
was also created by the Law of Bases of the Jud!
icial System.
On a different level, the Portuguese courts still play a role within Macau’s judicial structure. Besides the
Supreme Court of Justice, the Constitutional Court has maintained its power to adjudge the constitutionality
and legality of decisions taken by the Legislative Assembly; the Supreme Administrative Court maintains
the right to pass judgment on appeals brought against the actions of the Governor and his under-secretaries;
and the Audit Court in Lisbon assesses any potential divergence between the government of Macau and the
local Audit Court. The revision of the Organic Statute of Macau, with the objective of bringing the
governments of Macau and Portugal closer together, led to the achievement of complete autonomy within
the judicial system, the ultimate proof coming with the establishment of a Court of Final Appeal as
foreseen in the Basic Law of the future Macau Special Administrative Region. The training of local legal
personnel is fundamental during the period of !
transition. The Law of Bases opened the way for Macau’s first bilingual magistrates. These graduated in
1993 from the University of Macau. At the end of 1995, the Magistrate College accepted its first intake of
students. These students are from either Macau or China, are law graduates, from a university in Portugal
or Macau, and are fluent in both the Chinese and Portuguese languages. They will became the next judges
and agents of the public prosecutor’s office, positions that have hitherto always been occupied by
Portuguese magistrates.To Be ConTinued…