To give effect to the general principle set forth in Articles 15.3 and 37 of the Angolan Constitution, which recognize the right to private property and set forth that expropriations may occur only if grounded on reasons of public interest and subject to the payment of just and prompt compensation, the National Parliament has approved Law No. 1/21, of 7 January 2021 (Expropriation Law), thus repealing a regime based on pre-independence statutes dating back to the late 1940s.

With a view to further regulating the general principles stated above, the Expropriation Law lays down the specific procedure governing expropriations, some of the key matters of the new legal regime being the following: 

• In addition to the State, the entities benefiting from expropriations may include the Municipalities as well as any public or private legal entity which may be declared as beneficiary of the expropriation.
   
• While public interest is not defined, some of the public interest grounds that may justify expropriation procedures are listed in the Law, including inter alia, National Defence and Security interests, creation of new housing areas, special economic areas and free trade zones, industrial use of mines, mineral deposits, water resources, exploration of public interest public services, operation of public transport systems, construction and assembly of power plants, substations and electricity transmission lines integrated in the public electricity system, as well any other public interest grounds under special laws.
   
• Preference is given to agreeing on the sale and purchase of the asset (right) prior to an expropriation procedure being initiated. This means that, before requesting the issuance of a Public Utility Declaration issued by the President of the Republic enabling the expropriation, the expropriating authority should endeavour to enter into a private agreement with the interested parties, to be formalized through a public deed, without prejudice to the urgent expropriation procedures set forth in the law.
   
• Where no agreement can be reached, or in the case of urgent expropriations, the Public Utility Declaration (an authorizing act) may be issued, whereby the entity beneficiary of the expropriation is granted powers to acquire the relevant asset (right) by expropriation.
   
• Once the Public Utility Declaration is issued and published in the Official Gazette, a specific process is to take place with a view to determining the main characteristics of the assets to be expropriated and an estimate of the amount of compensation due. Interested persons, affected by the expropriation, have the right to participate in such process and to question the expert responsible therefor. An expert report is to be drawn-up, the interested parties having the right to submit claims against such report.
   
• The right to fair compensation and due process is ensured by the Expropriation Law, there being determined specific rules in what concerns how the fair compensation amount should be determined – the same having to correspond to the existing market value of the assets being subject to expropriation, which includes the land but also any existing buildings and improvements that may exist at the time the expropriation decision is approved –, as well as the specific procedure, including formalities and applicable deadlines, that enables the interested parties to challenge the amount of compensation being offered.
   
• The declaration of public utility itself is also subject to being challenged before a court, in which case the matter under discussion would not revolve around the amount of compensation due but rather on the lawfulness of the expropriation proper.
   
• The President of the Republic may authorize the beneficiary of the expropriation to take administrative possession of the relevant assets, in which case the works required to execute the underlying project must be initiated within a predetermined deadline, under pain of an indemnity for the damages caused to be expropriated being due as a result of said administrative possession.
   
• The declaration of public utility shall lapse, within a period of 5-years in the case of ordinary expropriation procedures or of 3 years in the case of urgent expropriations, in the event the authorities do not promote the implementation of the underlying project justifying the expropriation within said term, without prejudice to the ability of the same being renewed for a 1-year term.
   
• The Expropriation Law foresees the situations where a reversion of the expropriated assets may occur, it being determined that whenever the authorities fail to implement the project justifying the expropriation within a given period of time and/or in situations where the original use that grounded the expropriation ceases to exist, the former owners have the right to claim back their property, subject to returning the amount of compensation received.
   
• The Expropriation Law also foresees the possibility of the parties agreeing to subject disputes concerning the amount of compensation due to arbitration proceedings as an alternative to resorting to local State courts.

A number of important matters are still to be set forth in ancillary statutes to be approved by the President of the Republic, notably the specific rules on the value of the asset (right), the list of admitted experts responsible for the process and drafting evaluation reports, or regulations dealing with resettlement of populations affected by expropriation procedures.
 
The Expropriation Law shall enter into force 180 days following its enactment, i.e. in July 2021, but will apply to expropriation procedures currently under way.

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