Mozambique: Amendments to the Civil Code

1. A new paragraph has been included in article 377 of the Civil Code, determining that the notarization (reconhecimento notarial) of signatures on mortgage, purchase and sale and loan agreements executed by reference to contract models approved by a competent authority, grants to the documents the value of an authentic act;
2. Under the new wording of article 714 of the Civil Code, the act of constitution or modification of a voluntary mortgage, when it concerns real estate property, may, in addition to the public deed and the will, be made by reference to contract models approved by a competent authority. When executed by means of a contract model approved by a competent authority, the notarization (reconhecimento notarial) of signatures will grant to the document the value of an authentic act;
3. Under the article 875, in addition to the public deed, contracts for the purchase and sale of immovable property can now be entered into by means of a contract model approved by a competent authority, in which case the notarization (reconhecimento notarial) of signatures will grant to the document the value of an authentic act;
4. Regarding the formalities of the loan agreement of any value, the same is valid if contained in a private document or in a contract model approved by the competent authority, duly notarized, under the terms of the Notarial Code.

These amendments aim to promote the debureaucratisation, flexibility  and simplification of procedures and align the substantive rules to the registration rules of the Real Estate Registry Code, approved by Decree-Law No. 2/ 20 18, of August 23, namely by facilitating the recourse to the one stop shop (Balcões de Atendimento Único) 

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