LuciaStonor at 05:53, 17 January 2026

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{{Short description|Indian state civil law}}
The '''Goa Civil Code''', also called the '''Goa Family Law''', is the set of civil [[laws]] that governs the residents of the Indian state of [[Goa]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-09-18|title=SC's example of Goa as a state with a Uniform Civil Code is inconsistent with Article 44|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/uniform-civil-code-supreme-court-article-44-6004340/|access-date=2021-12-05|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Goan Civil Code a shining example of Indian democracy|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/goan-civil-code-a-shining-example-of-indian-democracy/1619379|access-date=2021-12-05|website=[[Outlook India]]}}</ref> The Goan civil code was introduced after [[Portuguese Goa and Daman]] were elevated from being mere [[Portuguese colonies]] to the status of a ''[[Província Ultramarina]]'' ([[Overseas possession]]).<ref name="thehinducentre.com">{{Cite web|last=Mathew|first=C. K.|title=Uniform Civil Code: The Importance of an Inclusive and Voluntary Approach|url=https://www.thehinducentre.com/publications/issue-brief/article29796731.ece|access-date=2021-12-05|website=The Hindu Center|language=en}}</ref> The Goan civil code is a Indianised variant of the [[Portuguese Civil Code|Portuguese legal system]] that draws largely from the [[Code Napoleon|Napoleonic Code]], a common legal system in a number of [[Continental Europe]]an nations.<ref name="thehinducentre.com"/> [[Indian law]] mostly derives from [[English common law]] that was formulated and applied in [[British India]], and remains pegged to developments in the "Charter of the [[British Commonwealth]]". With a number of amendments, following the [[Partition of India]], Indian laws as a whole have religion-specific [[civil codes]] that separately govern adherents of different religions; (like the [[Muslim personal law|Muslim]] and [[Hindu personal law]]s) and also has [[caste reservation]]s. Goa and Daman are an exception to that rule, in that a single code governs all the native [[Goans]] and the native Damanese of [[Daman, Diu & Silvassa]], irrespective of affiliation to [[religion]], [[ethnicity]] and [[social strata]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Nandini Chavan|author2=Qutub Jehan Kidwai|title=Personal Law Reforms and Gender Empowerment: A Debate on Uniform Civil Code|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QIMp5ctu_ngC&pg=PA245|access-date=17 January 2014|year=2006|publisher=Hope India Publications|isbn=978-81-7871-079-2|page=245}}</ref> [http://goaprintingpress.gov.in/downloads/1819/1819-29-SI-OG-0.pdf The English translation of the civil code] is available on the Government of Goa's [http://goaprintingpress.gov.in/ e-Gazette] dated 19/10/2018.<ref>{{Citation|work=[[The Navhind Times]]|title=Translated Portuguese Civil Code published in official gazette|date=2018-10-24|url=http://www.navhindtimes.in/translated-portuguese-civil-code-published-in-official-gazette/|access-date=2018-10-24}}</ref>

== History ==
The Goa civil code is largely based on the [[Portuguese India|Portuguese]] Civil Code (''Código Civil Português'') of 1867, which was introduced in Goa in 1870 (by a Decree of 18 November 1869, the Civil Code of 1867 was extended to the Overseas Provinces of Portugal<ref>See: [https://www.fd.ulisboa.pt/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Vicente-Dario-Moura-The-Civil-Code-in-Portugal-and-Goa-Common-Heritage-and-Future-Prospects.pdf Vicente, Dario Moura. The Civil Code in Portugal and Goa: Common Heritage and Future Prospects. — P. 5.]</ref>). Later, the code saw some modifications, based on:<ref name="Statesman2014"/>

* the Portuguese Gentile Hindu Usages Decrees of 1880 (''Código de usos e costumes dos hindus gentios de Goa '')

* the Portuguese Decrees on Marriage and Divorce of 1910 (''Lei do Divórcio: Decreto de 3 de Novembro de 1910''). After the establishment of the [[First Portuguese Republic]], the civil code was liberalized to give women more freedom.<ref name="Fatima1996">{{cite book |author=Fatima da Silva Gracias |title=Kaleidoscope of Women in Goa, 1510-1961 |url=https://archive.org/details/kaleidoscopeofwo0000silv |url-access=registration |date=1 January 1996 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |isbn=978-81-7022-591-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/kaleidoscopeofwo0000silv/page/90 90]–}}</ref>
* the Portuguese Decrees on Canonical Marriages of 1946 (''Decreto 35.461: regula o casamento nas colónias portuguesas'')<ref>{{cite web|title=Decreto 35.461: regula o casamento nas colónias portuguesas|url=http://www.dre.pt/pdf1s/1946/01/01500/00430048.pdf |access-date=2014-09-05}}</ref>

The civil code was retained in Goa after its [[1961 Indian annexation of Goa|merger]] with the Indian Union in 1961, although in Portugal, the original Code was replaced by the new [[Portuguese Civil Code]] of 1966. In 1981, the Government of India appointed a Personal Law Committee to determine if the non-uniform laws of the Union could be extended to Goa. The Goa Muslim [[Shariah]] Organization supported the move, but it was met with stiff resistance from the Muslim Youth Welfare Association and the Goa Muslim Women's Associations.<ref name="Partha2012">{{cite book |author=Partha S. Ghosh |title=The Politics of Personal Law in South Asia: Identity, Nationalism and the Uniform Civil Code |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YwvaaHI8sjEC&pg=PA19 |date=23 May 2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-70511-3 |pages=19–22}}</ref>

== Differences with the Indian law ==

Some ways in which the Goa Civil Code is different from other Indian laws include:<ref name="Statesman2014"/>

* A married couple jointly holds ownership of all the assets owned (before the [[marriage]]) or acquired (after the marriage) by each spouse. In case of a [[divorce]], each spouse is entitled to a half share of the assets. However, the law also allows [[antenuptial agreement]]s, which may state a different division of assets in case of a divorce. These agreements also allow the spouses to hold the assets acquired before marriage separately. Such agreements cannot be changed or revoked. A married person cannot sell the property without the consent of his/her spouse.
* The parents cannot [[disinherit]] their children entirely. At least half of their property has to be passed on to the children compulsorily. This inherited property must be shared equally among the children.
* [[Muslim]] men, who have their marriages registered in Goa, cannot practice [[polygyny in Islam|polygamy]].

== Uniformity ==

The Goa Civil Code is not strictly a [[uniform civil code]], as it has specific provisions for certain communities. For example:<ref name="Statesman2014">{{cite news |url=http://www.thestatesman.net/news/54625-uniform-and-civil.html |title=Uniform and civil |date=2014-05-15 |newspaper=The Statesman |author=Vivek Jain and Shraddha Gupta }}</ref><ref name="Partha2012"/>

* The [[Hinduism|Hindu]] men have the right to [[bigamy]] under specific circumstances mentioned in ''Codes of Usages and Customs of Gentile Hindus of Goa'' (if the wife fails to deliver a child by the age of 25, or if she fails to deliver a male child by the age of 30). For other communities, the law prohibits bigamy.
* The [[Roman Catholic]]s can solemnize their marriages in church after obtaining a No Objection Certificate from the Civil Registrar. For others, only a civil registration of the marriage is accepted as a proof of marriage. The Catholics marrying in the church are excluded from divorce provisions under the civil law.
* For Hindus, divorce is permitted only on the grounds of [[adultery]] by the wife.
* The law has inequalities in case of [[adoption|adopted]] and [[Legitimacy (family law)|illegitimate]] children.

== See also ==

* [[LGBTQ rights in Goa]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Goa topics}}

[[Category:Civil codes]]
[[Category:Government of Goa]]
[[Category:Indian family law]]
[[Category:Identity politics in India]]
[[Category:Law by issue]]
[[Category:Law by issue and country]]
[[Category:Legal systems]]
[[Category:Social history of Goa]]
[[Category:Women's rights in India]]

Goa Civil Code - Revision history

LuciaStonor at 05:53, 17 January 2026