Portugal · Overview
The legal system of Portugal
A civil-law system founded on the 1976 Constitution and a comprehensive Civil Code, with a Constitutional Court exercising both abstract and concrete review. An EU and eurozone member with a semi-presidential form of government.
Legal tradition
Portugal belongs to the civil law tradition. A civil-law system founded on the 1976 Constitution and a comprehensive Civil Code, with a Constitutional Court exercising both abstract and concrete review. An EU and eurozone member with a semi-presidential form of government.
How power is divided
A semi-presidential republic in which a directly elected President, a Government answerable to parliament and an independent judiciary share power, with a Constitutional Court guarding the constitution.
Where law comes from
- Constitution
- The 1976 constitution.
- EU law
- Directly applicable and, in its field, paramount.
- Laws of the Assembly
- Statutes and authorised government decree-laws.
- Codes
- The Civil Code, Commercial law, Penal Code and procedural codes.
The legal profession
Advogados belong to the Ordem dos Advogados; solicitadores and notaries handle registration and authentication of deeds and companies.
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