MOZAMBIQUE - Page 5-
govern the African people in the circunecriyoes of Mozambique.
In addition to the existing local government bodies up to the
level of the circunscrigoes, district councils will be established.
The members of the district councils will be elected.
By law, before 1961, services such as education, finance,
justice, public health and agriculture have been part of the national services in Lisbon.  Also, personnel in the administrative services belonged either to the common Overseas Service, or to the
Territorial Civil Service.  Nov/, a provincial secretariat is to be
established comprising all administrative services, headed by a
Provincial Secretary.
The legislative organs of the territory will have the power
to pass legislation regulating the composition, recruitment, duties
and salaries of the Territorial Civil Service.  This power is now
held by the Minister for Overseas Portugal.
The highest rank of the Civil Service under the new provisions
will be that of intendente.  A person who hol& this rank may be
appointed to coordinate the work of the administrators (officials
in charge of the circunscripo*es);  or he may be appointed as a district Governor.  District Governors are at present appointed by the
Governor-General and are his direct representatives.
JUDICIARY
Before the reforms were introduced in September 1961, the only
written law officially recognized in Mozambique was Portuguese
common, civil and penal law.  However, this law applied only to
those persons considered Portuguese citizens.  The Native Statute
v/hich governed all other inhabitants was not clearly defined, since
the Portuguese felt that those persons not suitably enlightened
should not be allowed the public and private rights of a Portuguese
citizen.
The traditional customs and laws of the African people v/ere
not codified.  Therefore, when the customary law v/as in harmony
with Portuguese law, customary law was accepted.  When traditional
laws were not in conformity v/ith Portuguese law, customary law was
not recognized.
According to the reforms of September 1961, municipal courts
are to be established in each municipality or circunscrigoes.  The
courts are to be presided over by a legal specialist working with
a public prosecutor.  Formerly, the administrative authorities sat
as municipal judges.  The postos, the divisions of the circunscri-
£oes, are each to have a justice of the peace whose duties are to
be discharged by the chefe de posto, the administrator just below
the district administrator.  Under the reform, any person may place
himself under Portuguese civil law, irrevocably, making his descendants subject to the same law from the time of declaration.
People who live in areas not regarded as traditionally regedorias
will be governed by Portuguese civil law.  In deciding cases, the
judge is instructed to consider the social background of the defendant.  Equality under the lav/ seems to be theoretical only, for
in the case of indigenous persons the judge may deliver a sentence
of compulsory labour for offenses.  In the past, such a statute
has worked injustices on the African population, for it has been
common practice to charge penal offenses indiscriminately against
Africans in order to obtain labour for public works or private
enterprise.
Since the reforms have been mentioned a number of times in
this paper, it might be thought by some that some real changes have
taken place in the territory of Mozambique.  It would be useful at
this point to quote a United Nations document, a/5160, paragraphs
402-407.  They are as follows;