O processo constitucional como matriz da processualidade angolana: crítica ao artigo 2.º da Lei n.º 3/08 e construção de uma teoria constitucional da processualidade

Abstract

This article examines the fundamental and procedural principles underlying Angolan constitutional procedure, focusing particularly on due process, the right to a fair, expeditious and lawful trial, and effective judicial protection. The study draws on the 2010 Constitution of the Republic of Angola, the Constitutional Procedure Law and the Organic Law of the Constitutional Court, combining them with constitutional and procedural doctrine and the case law of the Angolan Constitutional Court. It analyses the principles of constitutional supremacy, constitutionality, human dignity, legality, equality, proportionality, judicial independence and impartiality, adversarial proceedings, equality of arms, broad defence, the right to evidence, reasoned decisions, procedural speed, legal certainty, the right to appeal, subsidiarity and the specialised nature of constitutional jurisdiction. The jurisprudential analysis focuses on Decisions No. 336/2014, 738/2022, 741/2022, 822/2023, 848/2023, 857/2023, 862/2023, 898/2024, 946/2024 and 1007/2025. The article argues that constitutional procedure cannot be reduced to formal mechanisms of normative review: it is an instrument for guaranteeing the normative force of the Constitution and protecting fundamental rights. It further demonstrates that the Constitutional Court has progressively developed the content of a fair trial, moving towards a substantive understanding of due process while preserving the distinction between constitutional and ordinary jurisdiction. The study concludes that the consolidation of Angolan constitutional justice requires a balance between procedural rigor, legal certainty and the effectiveness of fundamental rights, together with coherent, accessible and reasoned constitutional adjudication centred on human dignity.