Law of Portugal
Encyclopedia
The Law of Portugal is the legal system that applies in Portugal
. The Portuguese legal system is a civil law
or continental legal system, based on Roman law
. It is similar to other civil law legal systems found in other Europe
an countries such as France
, Italy
, Spain
and Germany
.
Up to the end of the 19th century French law was the main influence, but since the decisive works of Guilherme Moreira on Civil Law (Instituições de Direito Civil, published from 1906 to 1916) the major influence has been German law. EU law is now a major driving force in many respects, such as corporate law, administrative law and civil procedure.
The main laws include the Constitution (1976, as amended) the Civil Code (1966, as amended) and the Penal Code (1982, as amended). Other relevant laws are the Commercial Code (1888, as amended) and the Civil Procedure Code (1961, as amended).
The Portuguese variant of civil law legal systems is used in various countries and territories around the world, mostly former Portuguese colonies, including:
turned the Crown and the Court into an army permanently on the move. Some Portuguese legal historians claim that in the first two centuries after the Treaty of Zamora in 1143 - in which the Iberian kingdoms of León
and Castile
recognized Portuguese de facto sovereignty - the kingdom's political power was that of a "Warrior-State" that neither could, nor did, direct its resources to the organization of administrative institutions or to the productions of laws.
An exception to this fact were the three laws enacted by King Afonso II in 1211 during the Cortes of Coimbra.
During most of Portuguese legal history, Portugal and its colonies had an ancient legal system based on a double foundation of medieval local custumary law and Roman law
, mostly derived from the Corpus iuris civilis.
However, with the age of discoveries and a growing empire, Portuguese kings also grew politically stronger and managed to impose centralizes legal authority by criating several compilations of law. These attempts to codify law were not only a way to unify and bring together local legal traditions from the whole country, but also to correct some customs the Monarch thought to be unreasonable.
These legal compilations were the
These Ordenações were used throughout the Portuguese empire until the first Civil Code came into force in 1867. The first Civil Code is usually referred to as "Seabra's Code", due to the collaboration of the Count of Seabra in its making.
The second and current Civil Code was enacted in 1966; it is still in force in various former colonies, but not in Macau
, where it was superseded by the 1999 Macau Civil Code, which effectively amounts to a revision of the 1966 Code, prepared under the influence of Portuguese jurists, especially from the Faculty of Law of Coimbra.
on the national level. The law came into force on 5 June 2010. The new Law of Gender Identity that will allow for transsexual people to change their name and sex in legal documentation is expected to come into effect in 2011, and it is considered the most liberal of its kind in the world. Although full equality in parenting is not yet legal, LGBT-parenting single adoption is allowed and biological LGBT-parenting will also be legal with the new Law of Gender Identity (re-opening the social debate for full rights in parenthood).
, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
, António de Menezes Cordeiro, Jorge Miranda, António Vitorino
, José Manuel Barroso, Adriano Moreira
and Mário Soares
. Coimbra's is linked to personalities like António de Oliveira Salazar
and Almeida Santos. The law degrees offered by the Portuguese Catholic University at Lisbon are also reputed since the school achieved notability by its academic publications, the curricula of its teaching staff and the number of well-connected alumni it harbors. Both the Law Schools of the New University of Lisbon
and Minho University are considered modern law schools with an increasingly higher reputation. The offer of law degrees in Portugal is widespread across the entire country through both public and private university institutions, and is done with varying selectiviness and different academic integrity levels, according to the head of the Ordem dos Advogados Marinho Pinto.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. The Portuguese legal system is a civil law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
or continental legal system, based on Roman law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
. It is similar to other civil law legal systems found in other Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries such as France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Up to the end of the 19th century French law was the main influence, but since the decisive works of Guilherme Moreira on Civil Law (Instituições de Direito Civil, published from 1906 to 1916) the major influence has been German law. EU law is now a major driving force in many respects, such as corporate law, administrative law and civil procedure.
The main laws include the Constitution (1976, as amended) the Civil Code (1966, as amended) and the Penal Code (1982, as amended). Other relevant laws are the Commercial Code (1888, as amended) and the Civil Procedure Code (1961, as amended).
The Portuguese variant of civil law legal systems is used in various countries and territories around the world, mostly former Portuguese colonies, including:
- PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
(Portuguese Republic) - Macao (Macao Special Administrative Region the People's Republic of China)
- GoaGoaGoa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
- now part of IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... - Daman and Diu - now part of India
- Cape VerdeCape VerdeThe Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
(Republic of Cape Verde) - MozambiqueMozambiqueMozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
(Republic of Mozambique) - BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(Federative Republic of Brazil) (to a lesser extent) - AngolaAngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
- Guinea-BissauGuinea-BissauThe Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
- Timor-Leste
- São Tomé e Príncipe
History
As in most European countries, Portugal did not have centralized political institutions with the means to enact laws to regulate everyday legal issues. Both the wars against Castile and the ReconquistaReconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
turned the Crown and the Court into an army permanently on the move. Some Portuguese legal historians claim that in the first two centuries after the Treaty of Zamora in 1143 - in which the Iberian kingdoms of León
Kingdom of León
The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in AD 910 when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their capital from Oviedo to the city of León...
and Castile
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
recognized Portuguese de facto sovereignty - the kingdom's political power was that of a "Warrior-State" that neither could, nor did, direct its resources to the organization of administrative institutions or to the productions of laws.
An exception to this fact were the three laws enacted by King Afonso II in 1211 during the Cortes of Coimbra.
During most of Portuguese legal history, Portugal and its colonies had an ancient legal system based on a double foundation of medieval local custumary law and Roman law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
, mostly derived from the Corpus iuris civilis.
However, with the age of discoveries and a growing empire, Portuguese kings also grew politically stronger and managed to impose centralizes legal authority by criating several compilations of law. These attempts to codify law were not only a way to unify and bring together local legal traditions from the whole country, but also to correct some customs the Monarch thought to be unreasonable.
These legal compilations were the
- Ordenações Afonsinas 1446 (formally 1454 by Pedro, Duke of Coimbra)
- Ordenações Manuelinas 1512-1520 - under Manuel I; modified in 1526, 1533, 1580
- Ordenações Filipinas 1603 (during Spanish rule, some Spanish laws were incorporated)
These Ordenações were used throughout the Portuguese empire until the first Civil Code came into force in 1867. The first Civil Code is usually referred to as "Seabra's Code", due to the collaboration of the Count of Seabra in its making.
The second and current Civil Code was enacted in 1966; it is still in force in various former colonies, but not in Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, where it was superseded by the 1999 Macau Civil Code, which effectively amounts to a revision of the 1966 Code, prepared under the influence of Portuguese jurists, especially from the Faculty of Law of Coimbra.
LGBT legislation
In the past decade (2000–2010) Portugal has increasingly become one of the most LGBT-friendly countries in the world, with many pro-LGBT legislation and bans on LGBT discrimination, including one of the few Constitutions in the world that protects on grounds of sexual orientation. LGB are allowed to serve openly in the military and also legally allowed to donate blood. On 31 May 2010, Portugal became the sixth country in Europe and the eighth country in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriageSame-sex marriage in Portugal
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Portugal since June 5, 2010. The government of Prime Minister José Sócrates introduced a bill for legalization in December 2009; it was passed by the Assembly of the Republic in February 2010. The bill was declared legally valid by the Portuguese Constitutional...
on the national level. The law came into force on 5 June 2010. The new Law of Gender Identity that will allow for transsexual people to change their name and sex in legal documentation is expected to come into effect in 2011, and it is considered the most liberal of its kind in the world. Although full equality in parenting is not yet legal, LGBT-parenting single adoption is allowed and biological LGBT-parenting will also be legal with the new Law of Gender Identity (re-opening the social debate for full rights in parenthood).
Education, training and research in law
There are several Law Schools in the Portuguese universities. The oldest is the Law School of the University of Coimbra, which dates back to the 13th century. The Law Schools at the Lisbon University and the University of Coimbra are nowadays the most reputed by the number of highly distinguished alumni and professors linked to it. Lisbon's is linked to personalities such as Marcelo CaetanoMarcelo Caetano
Marcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano, GCTE, GCC, also spelled Marcello Caetano , was a Portuguese politician and scholar, who was the last prime minister of the Estado Novo regime, from 1968 until his overthrow in the Carnation Revolution of 1974....
, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa, ComSE, GCIH is a Portuguese politician and former Minister and Member of Parliament, law professor, former journalist, political analyst and pundit.-Background:...
, António de Menezes Cordeiro, Jorge Miranda, António Vitorino
António Vitorino
António Vitorino is a Portuguese politician and member of the Socialist Party .-Career:Vitorino graduated in law from the University of Lisbon. A lawyer by training, he was first elected to Parliament in 1980...
, José Manuel Barroso, Adriano Moreira
Adriano Moreira
Adriano José Alves Moreira , is a Portuguese statesman, deputy, politician, lawyer and professor...
and Mário Soares
Mário Soares
Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares, GColTE, GCC, GColL, KE , Portuguese politician, served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the 17th President of Portugal from 1986 to 1996.-Family:...
. Coimbra's is linked to personalities like António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar, GColIH, GCTE, GCSE served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He also served as acting President of the Republic briefly in 1951. He founded and led the Estado Novo , the authoritarian, right-wing government that presided over and controlled Portugal...
and Almeida Santos. The law degrees offered by the Portuguese Catholic University at Lisbon are also reputed since the school achieved notability by its academic publications, the curricula of its teaching staff and the number of well-connected alumni it harbors. Both the Law Schools of the New University of Lisbon
New University of Lisbon
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, , also known as NOVA ) was established in 1973 and is the youngest of the three public universities of Lisbon, in Portugal....
and Minho University are considered modern law schools with an increasingly higher reputation. The offer of law degrees in Portugal is widespread across the entire country through both public and private university institutions, and is done with varying selectiviness and different academic integrity levels, according to the head of the Ordem dos Advogados Marinho Pinto.
See also
- Crime in PortugalCrime in PortugalCrime in Portugal is characterized by low levels of gun violence and homicide, compared to other developed countries. Crime statistics are compiled annually by the Portuguese Ministry of Internal Administration and the Polícia de Segurança Pública which represents crimes reported to the police.The...
- PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...