MACAO SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
Law no. 11/2003
Amended and republished by Law no. 1/2013
Legal Regime of Declaration of Assets and Interests
The Legislative Assembly decrees, pursuant to Subparagraph 1) of Article 71 of the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region, that the following shall be enforced as law:
CHAPTER I
General provisions
Article 1
Purpose and scope
- This law establishes the obligation of holders of public positions and staff of the Public Administration to submit a declaration of assets and interests.
- For the purposes of this law, holders of public positions refer to:
- The Chief Executive and principal officials;
- Members of the Legislative Assembly;
- Judges and public prosecutors;
- Members of the Executive Council;
- Directorship, leadership and senior management officers of public services, including autonomous services and funds and other public legal persons, as well as chairpersons and members of boards of directors, administrators and supervisors thereof;
- Holders of management and supervision positions of public corporations, corporations wholly or mainly public funded and concessionaires for the exploitation of property of the public domain;
- The members of boards of directors on behalf of the Macao Special Administrative Region and delegates in representation of the Government;
- Holders of other positions deemed equivalent to directorship, leadership and senior management officers, namely chiefs of cabinet and advisers.
- The following personnel, including those of the autonomous services and funds and other public legal persons, shall be considered as staff of the Public Administration:
- Public servants with permanent tenure or on fixed-term appointments;
- Public servants in a probationary period or non-permanent personnel employed on temporary contracts;
- Staff in short-term contracts (subordinate relation);
- >Civilian or militarised staff of the Public Security Forces of Macao;
- Staff of the Customs Service.
- This law also stipulates that Part IV of the Declaration of Assets and Interests of the following persons shall be publicly disclosed:
- The Chief Executive and principal officials;
- Members of the Legislative Assembly;
- Judges and public prosecutors;
- Members of the Executive Council;
- Chiefs of cabinet;
- Directors and Deputy Directors of public services or holders of positions deemed equivalent to those, including autonomous services and funds and other public legal persons, as well as chairpersons and members of boards of directors, administrators and supervisors thereof;
- Holders of management and supervision positions of public corporations, corporations wholly or mainly public funded and concessionaires for the exploitation of property of the public domain.
Article 1-A
General principles
Without prejudice to the general principles of public administration activities, the implementation of this law shall also be subject to the principles of transparency, strict respect for private life and non-discrimination in the treatment of personal data.
Article 2
Content of the declaration
- The declaration consists of four parts and shall contain, in addition to personal identification information, all the elements that allow a strict assessment of the assets, income and non-pecuniary interests of the declarant and his spouse or cohabiting partner.
- Part I of the declaration contains the personal identification data of the declarant and his spouse or cohabiting partner and the salary index or monthly remuneration of the declarant as well.
- Part II contains information that allows a strict assessment of the assets and income of the declarant and his spouse or cohabiting partner that are subject to declaration at the time of declaration, namely the following:
- Assets, including immovable properties, commercial enterprises, industrial units and shares, stock, participation or other forms of holding capital in companies, partnerships or corporations, ownership of shipping vessels, aircrafts or vehicles, security portfolios, as well as bank accounts, cash, credits, works of art, jewellry, and other objects of an amount or value corresponding to more than 500 points of the salary index of the public service;
- Incomes from jobs or occupational activities, including retirement pensions or benefits, commercial or industrial activities, immovable properties, copyright or industrial property and investments;
- Liabilities, namely debts of an amount corresponding to more than 500 points of the salary index of the public service;
- Positions, functions or activities performed in accumulation, for which a remuneration or other advantage is earned;
- Identification of the entities for whom the declarant had worked or rendered services in the last two years preceding a declaration due to a new appointment or reappointment.
- Part III contains information on direct or indirect economic benefits or advantages received in the last two years preceding the declaration, with a view to the exercise of public office, namely financial sponsorships, sponsored trips and accommodation, pecuniary interests received from public or private entities, excluding those arising directly from the performance of the position itself.
- Part IV contains information on immovable properties, commercial enterprises, industrial units and shares, stock, participation or other forms of holding capital in companies, partnerships or corporations owned by the persons referred to in Paragraph 4 of Article 1, and functions performed in any non-profit organisations.
- In case of divergence, either by excess or by default, the content of Part II shall prevail over the corresponding content of Part IV, in particular for the purposes of Article 28.
- The declaration includes the assets and interests mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, even though:
- They are located, produced, constituted, received, exercised or rendered outside of the Macao Special Administrative Region;
- They are possessed through a third party.
- The declarant shall clearly and sufficiently describe the assets and the interests referred to in the preceding paragraphs in order to disclose their nature, status, identification, provenance, amount, value, issuing entities, depositary entities, creditors or debtors and other information that may apply.
- The material in Parts II, III and IV may be accompanied by any appropriate means of confirmation.
- If necessary, the contents of Parts II, III and IV may be supplemented on the form named "Development of Fields" or on supplementary documents.
Article 3
Form of declaration
- The declarant shall make a truthful declaration under oath.
- The declaration shall be made by filling in the forms in Annex I to this law, of which it forms an integral part. The electronic versions of such forms, having the same effect as the paper versions, are provided by the Commission Against Corruption on its website.
- Those with the duty of notification referred to in Paragraph 1 of Article 5 shall provide the declarant with the forms referred to in the preceding paragraph free of charge.
- When both of the spouses or cohabiting partners are obliged to submit a declaration, a single declaration, signed jointly by them, may be submitted in accordance with the preceding paragraphs.
- The declaration and the attached documents shall consist of an original and two copies identified as such.
Article 4
Submission periods
- The declaration shall be submitted by the declarant within 90 days of the new appointment.
- The updated declaration shall be submitted by the declarant within 90 days:
- From the date of the termination of office;
- From the date of the reappointment, re-election or renewal of the public position;
- From the date of the change of entity or services in which the staff of the Public Administration performs duties, the change of status and position, or the change of his salary or monthly remuneration involving an amount corresponding to 85 points or more of the salary index of the public service;
- From the expiry of five years from the previous declaration, if none of the situations under the preceding subparagraphs occurs to the staff of the Public Administration.
- If there is no information update, the declarant shall only fill in Part I of the declaration and declare there is no information update in the respective field.
- The preceding paragraph applies to the declaration arising from the termination of office or the resumption of the same duty after the termination of office, provided that the last declaration was made less than 1 year ago and there are no such changes referred to in Subparagraph 3) of Paragraph 2.
Article 5
Duty to notify
- The service or institution in which the person obliged to submit the declaration performs duties, or the support service thereof, or the superior of the entity or service in which the person is newly appointed, performs duties or faces a termination of office, shall, within 10 days of the event from which the obligation of declaration originates:
- Notify the declarant of his obligation to submit a declaration according to the model in Annex II to this law, of which it forms an integral part; and,
- Send copies of the notification to the two depositary entities referred to in the following article.
- If any of those with the duty to notify referred to in the preceding paragraph fails to notify the declarant of the obligation to submit the declaration on time, it shall give notice of the failure to the two depositary entities within the following 10 days.
- In case of termination of office due to the death of the declarant, any of those with the duty to notify referred to in Paragraph 1 shall, within 10 days from the knowledge of the fact, notify the respective depositary entities for the purposes of Paragraph 2 of Article 20.
- Notification to the depositary entity provided for in the preceding paragraphs shall be given, whenever possible, by the means referred to in Article 31 of Law no. 5/2005.
Article 6
Place of submission
- The declarations of the following persons shall be submitted to the Secretariat of the Court of Final Appeal:
- Holders of public positions, even if they perform other public duties in accumulation;
- Staff of the Commission Against Corruption;
- Spouses or cohabiting partners, when both of them are obliged declarants and one of them must submit the declaration to the Secretariat of the Court of Final Appeal, irrespective of whether the declarations are made jointly or separately.
- Except as otherwise provided for in Subparagraphs 2) and 3) of the preceding paragraph, declarations of staff of the Public Administration shall be submitted to the Commission Against Corruption.
- In case of change of duties or service of the declarant that results in a change in the place of submission, the declaration dossier shall be sent by the original depositary entity to the other within 10 days upon receipt of the copy of notification referred to in Paragraph 1 of Article 5.
- In case of change of marital or cohabitation status of the declarant that results in a change of depositary entity, the declaration dossier shall be sent by the original depositary entity to the other within 10 days from the knowledge of the fact.
- Whenever the spouse or the cohabiting partner of a holder of public position or an employee of the Commission Against Corruption submits a declaration to the Secretariat of the Court of Final Appeal according to Subparagraph 3) of Paragraph 1, the Secretariat shall, within 10 days of the receipt, notify the Commission Against Corruption according to the model in Annex III to this law, of which it forms an integral part.
Article 7
Submission of declaration
- The completed declaration and two copies identified as such shall be delivered to the depositary entity in person or by mail in accordance with the following paragraph.
- The declaration, sealed in an envelope clearly marked as "confidential", stating the identification of the declarant and mentioning "declaration enclosed", may be sent by registered mail with return receipt requested, before the expiration of the term, to the President of the Court of Final Appeal or the Commissioner Against Corruption, as appropriate.
- If the declaration is to be sent by mail, the declarant may enclose an envelope with sufficient postage for returning one of the duplicates and ensure that the envelope can safeguard the security and confidentiality of the declaration.
Article 8
Receipt of declaration submission
- The depositary entity shall file Parts I and IV of the declaration without sealing them, seal Parts II and III in appropriate envelopes in the presence of the declarant and return to the latter one of the duplicates of the declaration with Part I marked as received.
- If the declaration has been sent by mail, the depositary entity shall seal it in an envelope, and if the declarant has enclosed a postage-paid return envelope, the depositary entity shall return to the declarant one of the duplicates of the declaration with Part I marked as received within 5 working days by registered mail.
- If the declarant has not enclosed a postage-paid return envelope for returning one of the duplicates of the declaration, or that envelope does not ensure its security and confidentiality, the depositary entity shall seal the duplicate in an envelope and attach it to the dossier, so the declarant may sign for it at the depositary entity anytime.
Article 9
The registration book for declaration submission
- The submission of the declarations shall be recorded in the designated book.
- The book shall contain opening and closing terms signed by the President of the Court of Final Appeal or the Commissioner Against Corruption as appropriate, and the President of the Court of Final Appeal or the Commissioner Against Corruption shall initial all its pages duly numbered.
- The registration shall indicate:
- The name of the declarant, the entity in which he performs duties, and the position, category or function he performs;
- The date of submission of the declaration;
- The reference number of the relevant dossier.
- The registration shall be annotated by:
- A note identifying the updates of the declaration;
- The document to be signed for referred to in Paragraph 3 of the preceding article;
- A note identifying the decisions about omission, irregularity, inaccuracy or incorrectness of the declarations, and any other relevant facts.
Article 10
Composition of the dossier
- The original of the declaration shall be inserted in the individual dossier organised for each declarant.
- If, however, the declaration is signed by two declarants, according to Paragraph 4 of Article 3, the original of the declaration shall be inserted in the dossier of the first declarant; a new dossier shall be set up for the other declarant, and a copy of that declaration shall be inserted in such dossier.
- If the spouse or cohabiting partner of the declarant, in order to fulfil the obligation referred to in Paragraph 1 of Article 30, chooses to submit Parts I and II of the declaration to the depositary entity on his own, these parts shall also be inserted in the individual dossier of the declarant.
- For each declaration received, the depositary entity shall make a proper record in the relevant individual dossier, which shall include the name of the declarant, his position, category or function, the service in which he performs duties and the date of submission.
- The declarations referred to in Paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 of Article 4, all the applications and the related letters shall be inserted in the individual dossiers of the declarants. Also, the individual dossier shall contain all records of the acts and decisions concerning the submission of and access to the declaration, including consultations by persons with personal identification and consultation reasons provided, disclosure of the declaration, as well as the execution of the provisions of Paragraph 2 of Article 21.
- For the purpose of recovery of the dossier, one of the copies of the declaration in a sealed envelope shall be filed by the depositary entity in a place under its authority other than where the original is kept.
Article 11
Database of the dossiers
- The database of individual dossiers shall contain Part I of the declaration and the elements referred to in Paragraph 4 of Article 9.
- The registration of the declarations and the database of individual dossiers may be processed by a computer system.
- If there is no computer system processing the database of the individual dossiers, there shall be at least an index system to enable the location of the dossiers.
Article 12
Personnel in charge
- The President of the Court of Final Appeal and the Commissioner Against Corruption shall designate, by order, personnel responsible for handling individual dossiers referred to in Article 10 and all the related paperwork. They shall ensure the compliance with the orders about the procedures for the implementation of this law and keep the dossiers archived in an organised manner.
- The personnel referred to in the preceding paragraph are the only ones authorised to have internal access to the individual dossiers, without prejudice to the rules of confidentiality established by law.
- The President of the Court of Final Appeal shall designate, by order, personnel responsible for the preparation, verification of compliance and public disclosure necessary for the implementation of Paragraph 2 of Article 21.
Article 13
Verification of the declaration
- After the dossier has been processed, it shall be, as the case may be, submitted to the President of the Court of Final Appeal or the Commissioner against Corruption for approval.
- In the event of any irregularities in the formalities, in particular regarding the submission of the declaration or inadequate completion of Part I, the declarant shall be notified and make amendments within 10 days upon receipt of the notification.
- If the declarant fails to make the required amendments within the period prescribed in the preceding paragraph, he shall be liable to the consequences for the failure to submit the declaration, except in the event of a justifiable reason accepted by the President of the Court of Final Appeal or the Commissioner Against Corruption.
CHAPTER II
Access to the declaration
Article 14
Legitimacy of access
The following entities are entitled to the access to the dossiers of declaration:
- The declarant;
- Judicial authorities;
- The Commissioner Against Corruption;
- Criminal police agencies and authorities;
- Other public bodies with relevant duties;
- Natural or legal persons with legitimate interest.
Article 15
Means of access
- The access to the declarations, the registration book and the dossiers following approval referred to in Article 13 shall take place:
- Directly at the premises of the depositary entities with adequate privacy protection during working hours;
- In duly justified cases, through the issuance of certificates or authenticated copies of the information that compose them.
- If the envelopes are damaged in the process of access to the declaration, upon the end of the procedure, the documents contained in the envelopes shall be sealed in appropriate envelopes again by the personnel responsible in the presence of the President of the Court of Final Appeal or the Commissioner Against Corruption as appropriate, but if the access is made by the declarant or entities referred to in Subparagraphs 5) and 6) of the preceding article and in the presence of the declarant, the declaration shall be sealed pursuant to Paragraph 1 of Article 8.
Article 16
Conditions of access
- Free access to the registration book and Parts I and IV of the declaration is allowed.
- The declarant may access all parts of his declaration and the relevant dossier freely.
- The entities referred to in Subparagraphs 2), 3) and 4) of Article 14 have, in accordance with the following article, full or partial access to all parts of the declaration, in the course of a criminal investigation.
- Without prejudice to the preceding paragraph, the entities referred to in Subparagraphs 2) to 6) of Article 14 have, in accordance with the following article, access to Part III of the declaration provided that the relevant legitimate interest in coming to know the information in the declaration is demonstrated.
Article 17
Procedure of access
- Total or partial access to the declaration requires, in accordance with the following paragraphs, prior authorisation of the President of the Court of Final Appeal or the Commissioner Against Corruption, as appropriate, upon application which shall state specifically what information is wanted.
- Access to the declarations not deposited in the Commission Against Corruption by the entities referred to in Subparagraphs 2) and 4) of Article 14 and the Commission Against Corruption requires prior authorisation from the President of the Court of Final Appeal.
- Access by the Commission Against Corruption to declarations deposited therein requires the order of the Commissioner Against Corruption that is duly substantiated and recorded in the dossier of the relevant investigation.
- Without prejudice to the preceding paragraphs, the request for access to Part II of the declaration by the entities referred to in Subparagraphs 2), 3) and 4) of Article 14 shall indicate the facts demonstrating that the knowledge of relevant information of the declaration is essential to the discovery of the truth in criminal proceedings and enclose the evidence of such facts.
- The request for access to Part III of the declaration by the entities referred to in Subparagraphs 2) and 4) of Article 14, outside a criminal investigation procedure, shall specify the facts demonstrating their legitimate interests in coming to the knowledge of the relevant information in the declaration and enclose the documents to prove such interests.
- The request of the entities referred to in Subparagraphs 5) and 6) of Article 14 shall specify the facts demonstrating their legitimate interests in coming to the knowledge of the relevant information in the declaration and enclose the documents to prove such interests as well as a statement claiming that such entities are aware of the civil and criminal liabilities incurred in the event of unauthorised disclosure or inaccurate disclosure of the information they intend to access.
- The request referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be made known to the declarant, so that he may raise an objection to the request within 3 working days.
- The decision on the request, which shall be duly substantiated, shall be made within 3 working days and be notified to the applicant. The declarant shall also be notified if the case referred to in Paragraph 6 occurs.
Article 18
Appeal
Appeal against the decision on access to the declaration provided for in the preceding article may be made pursuant to applicable rules within 10 days to the Court of Final Appeal, which shall make the ruling following the procedure and term of urgent proceedings.
Article 19
Invalidity of evidence
The information of the declaration obtained in violation of Articles 16 and 17 shall not constitute evidence against the declarant and such evidence is thus considered invalid.
Article 20
Preservation and destruction of declaration dossiers
- The preservation and destruction of declaration dossiers shall be subject to, mutatis mutandis, the general archival regime of the Macao Special Administrative Region.
- Without prejudice to the following paragraph, the declaration shall be destroyed 5 years after the death of the declarant or 10 years after the termination of office.
- If during the periods referred to in the preceding paragraph criminal proceedings are instituted, in which there is a need for the access to the declaration, the preservation period shall extend until the end of the proceedings.
- The destruction of declaration dossiers shall be done in accordance with the order issued by the President of the Court of Final Appeal or the Commissioner Against Corruption, as appropriate, and relevant certificate shall be drawn up by the personnel designated to do the destruction.
CHAPTER III
Disclosure of declaration
Article 21
Disclosure of the content of the declarations
- Except as provided in the following article, the information of Parts II and III of the declaration shall not be disclosed without the declarant's consent.
- Access by the public to the content of Part IV of the declaration shall be ensured by the Secretariat of the Court of Final Appeal through the website of the courts of the Macao Special Administrative Region. The Chief Executive may, where circumstances so warrant, set by order other forms of publication.
- Without prejudice to Article 326 of the Civil Code, the total or partial reproduction of the content of Part IV intended for a third party shall be accompanied by a statement of the reasons for making such reproduction.
Article 22
Official disclosure
- In justified cases and circumstances in which clarification of the financial status of the declarant is required for the sake of public interest, in particular when there is publicly expressed doubts about the veracity of the declaration made by the declarant, the President of the Court of Final Appeal or the Commissioner Against Corruption may, as appropriate, on his own initiative or, at the request of the entities mentioned in Subparagraphs 1) to 4) of Article 14 or the declarant's heirs, disclose in a statement the content of the declaration in detail or summary.
- The statement referred to in the preceding paragraph is subject to the regime of officialannouncements.
CHAPTER IV
Sanctioning provisions
Article 23
Concurrent offences
The penalties provided for in this law do not preclude the application of other more serious penalties arising from the commission of any criminal offences provided for in the Penal Code or another law.
Article 24
Violation of access procedure
Whoever, taking advantage of the function or position that he performs or holds in any capacity, facilitates, permits or authorises access to declarations or relevant dossiers in violation of the legal conditions and procedures, shall be liable to imprisonment up to 2 years or a fine up to 240 days.
Article 25
Illicit disclosure
- Whoever violates the stipulation under Paragraph 1 of Article 21 shall be liable to imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years.
- Whoever discloses, in whole or in part, the content of the declaration incorrectly shall be liable to imprisonment from 1 month to 2 years and those limits shall be doubled for recidivist.
- As to the infringement of Paragraph 1 of Article 21 by the persons referred to in Subparagraph 6) of Article 14, criminal proceedings shall be instituted only upon a complaint.
- The obligation to compensate the victim is independent of the criminal responsibilities provided for in the preceding paragraphs.
- The rules on principal offender and joint liability provided for in Articles 32 and 42 of Law no. 7/90/M of 6thAugust apply to Paragraph 2.
- Whoever violates Paragraph 3 of Article 21 shall be punished with a fine of 1,000 to 10,000 patacas.
Article 26
Failure to submit the declaration
- The declarant, who fails to submit the declaration within the designated period, incurs the suspension of one sixth of his salary or remuneration until the declaration is submitted. The suspension shall start as soon as the Financial Services Bureau or the entity with financial autonomy where the declarant performs his duties is notified by the depositary entity of the fact.
- The declarant, who fails to submit the declaration within the designated period due to his own fault, shall be liable to a fine equivalent to the triple of the monthly remuneration of the position or function he exercises.
- The President of the Court of Final Appeal or the Commissioner Against Corruption, as applicable, shall order the defaulter to submit the declaration within a period of not exceeding 30 days. In the case of failure to abide by the order, which shall be deemed a crime of disobedience, the President of the Court of Final Appeal or the Commissioner Against Corruption shall refer the proper procedural documents to the Public Prosecutions Office for relevant criminal proceedings. If the declarant submits the declaration with justification in written form, the President of the Court of Final Appeal or the Commissioner Against Corruption, as appropriate, may consider the delay justifiable.
Article 27
Inaccurate data
- The inexcusable inaccuracy of the information filled in any parts of the declaration shall entail the liability to a fine equivalent to 3 months to 1 year of the remuneration of the position held.
- The declarant who provides inaccurate information with malicious intent in any parts of the declaration shall be punished for the crime of making false statement or declaration. If a fine is imposed, the amount shall not be less than 6 months of the remuneration of the position held.
- For the purposes of criminal proceedings for the offence referred to in the preceding paragraph, the President of the Court of Final Appeal or the Commissioner Against Corruption, as applicable, shall refer to the Public Prosecutions Office a certificate of the inaccurate declaration and other procedural documents considered relevant.
Article 28
Unexplained wealth
- The person obliged to submit declaration under Article 1 who, directly or indirectly, is in possession of property or income abnormally exceeding the values declared and fails to explain how and when they have come to his ownership or to prove their lawful source, shall be liable to imprisonment up to 3 years or a fine.
- The unexplained property or income referred to in the preceding paragraph may, in a judicial conviction, be seized and transferred to the Macao Special Administrative Region.
Article 29
Prohibition of exercise of positions or functions
Whoever is convicted of a crime referred to in Paragraph 2 of Article 27 or Article 28, may, without prejudice to application of special regime provided by the law, given the specific gravity of the act and its impact on the offender's civic virtue, be prohibited from holding public positions or performing public functions for up to 10 years.
Article 30
Obligation to cooperate as spouse
- The declarant's spouse or his cohabiting partner is obliged to provide the declarant with all the required information to fill in the declaration, but may choose to submit Parts I and II of the declaration to the depositary directly.
- Those who have the duty to notify referred to in Paragraph 1 of Article 5 shall provide Parts I and II of the declaration form as referred to in the preceding paragraph for free.
- Whoever fails to fulfil the obligation referred to in Paragraph 1 intentionally and without justification shall be punished with imprisonment up to 2 years or a fine up of to 240 days.
Article 30-A
Competence to sanction
The power of imposing administrative penalties prescribed in this law shall be vested in the President of the Court of Final Appeal or the Commissioner Against Corruption depending on the depositary entity.
CHAPTER V
Final and transitional provisions
Article 3
Exemption from charges
For the submission of declarations, and the management and handling of the relevant dossiers and files or making of records in accordance with this law, the depositary entities shall not charge the declarants any fees.
Article 32
Envelopes
- In implementing the provisions of this law, envelopes of the model provided for in Annex IV, which is an integral part of this law, shall be used. The envelopes shall bear the appropriate characteristics to ensure their inviolability.
- When there is no prescribed model for an envelope, the envelope shall have the conditions necessary to ensure the confidentiality and security of the contents.
Article 33
Supplementary legislation
For matters on the processing and protection of personal data that are not specifically regulated in this law, Law no. 8/2005 shall apply.
Article 34
Revocation provision
Law no. 3/98/M of 29th June is hereby repealed.
Article 35
Entry into force
This law shall enter into force on 1st September 2003. Approved on 10th July 2003.
The President of the Legislative Assembly,Susana Chou. Signed on 22nd July 2003.
To be published.
The Chief Executive,Ho Hau Wah.
(The English version of this law is provided for reference only. Only the Chinese and Portuguese versions published in the Official Gazette of the Macao SAR are official.)