Decree No. 37570 dated 3.10.1949

In reply to Starred Question No. 568 raised in the Goa Legislative Assembly on 5th July 1995 by late Manohar Parrikar, and printed in The Portuguese Law of Goa (pages 397 to 400), the then Law Minister Dominic Fernandes informed the House that as many as 43 Portuguese enactments continued to remain in force in the State of Goa. The particulars of those enactments were furnished in Annexure I appended to the said reply.

The present Decree finds place at Serial No. 22 in the said Annexure under the description: “Decree No. 37570 dated 3.10.1949 regarding election of managing committee of Devasthan in cases not provided for in the Devasthan Regulation.”

Since no authorised or published English translation of this Decree is available in the public domain, Goa Kaido, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence, has undertaken the task of preparing its English rendering with the object of making this and other surviving Portuguese enactments referred to in the aforesaid Assembly proceedings accessible to readers, legal practitioners, researchers, academicians and the public at large.

On examination and translation, it is observed that the present Decree, in substance, relates to the legal framework governing elections to the National Assembly and appears to have been promulgated with a view to simplifying electoral procedure and removing ambiguities prevailing under earlier electoral diplomas.

Though the subject-matter of this Decree bears no practical relevance to the existing administrative or electoral system in Goa, the same is nevertheless considered worthy of publication in view of its continuing historical and legislative significance and as part of the larger endeavour to document all Portuguese laws technically remaining in force unless expressly repealed.

Accordingly, for the convenience of readers and research scholars, this publication incorporates in the Notification File the English translation of the principal provisions of the present Decree and, in the corresponding Act File, reproduces the original Portuguese text as published in the Official Gazette, thereby facilitating ready reference, preservation, historical record and comparative legal study.