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How SOT explains the law

SOT lists the laws of Timor-Leste from the official gazette and explains some of them in plain words. This is information, not legal advice.

How we work

  1. The official text is the only authority: the Portuguese text in the Jornal da República, or the English original for UNTAET regulations. Every act page links to it.
  2. Every sentence we write about a law points to an article of the official text and quotes it word for word.
  3. Computers help us draft and sort. They never approve or publish anything.
  4. An act shows as "in force", "amended" or "revoked" only after a person has read the clause that says so. Until then it says "Status not verified".
  5. When a newer act may change something we explained, that part is hidden and marked "Being updated" until we check it again.
  6. We describe what the law says. We do not tell you what to do, and we never say that a business "complies".
  7. Every explanation is checked by two SOT editors before it is published. It is not reviewed by a lawyer unless it says so.
  8. We publish what we do not know yet, and every list says it is not complete.

Who publishes these explanations

The written authority under which SOT editors publish information-only explanations will be published here before any explanation goes public.

Sources

  • The index and PDF files of the Jornal da República published by the Ministry of Justice.
  • Official Tetum translations where the Ministry of Justice published one. Whether gazette-published Tetum texts are authentic versions has not been verified.
  • Unofficial translations by others are only linked, never copied, and are labelled as unofficial.
  • Government statements on official websites, quoted briefly with their source and date.

Known gaps

  • Série I n.º 21 of 2017 was never published online.
  • Série I n.º 41 of 2012 cannot be opened on the official site (the link is broken).

Copyright

Laws, regulations and court decisions are not protected by copyright in Timor-Leste (Lei 14/2022, art. 15(1)(e)). SOT's compilation and explanations are © S.O.T. Group, all rights reserved; they may be quoted with a link to the page.

Found a mistake?

Signed-in users can use "Report an error" at the bottom of each law page. An address for people who cannot sign in will be published here.

See every correction we have made