Procedures
Portuguese-derived Código de Processo Civil with written pleadings and appeal to the Supremo
Civil procedure follows the received Portuguese Código de Processo Civil, characterised by written pleadings, judge-led inquiry and documentary emphasis rather than oral adversarial trial. Limitation (prescrição) runs under the Civil Code — generally twenty years for ordinary obligations, with shorter special periods.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Municipal and provincial courts at first instance; the Tribunal Supremo hears appeals; the Tribunal Constitucional handles constitutional review.
- Deadline — Ordinary obligations prescribe after 20 years; several commercial claims sooner
- Deadline — Appeal (recurso): 30 days from notification of the decision
Governing law
- Código de Processo Civilreceived Portuguese code, as amended
- Código Civil 1966 — prescrição, generally 20 years for ordinary credits
- Lei Orgânica do Sistema JudiciárioLei 2/15
In practice
The twenty-year ordinary prescription period is dramatically longer than the three or six years familiar in the common-law states of the region, and it is the single most commonly misjudged feature of Lusophone civil practice by outside advisers.