PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Rita Samoreno Gomes, Petra Carreira and Maria Berta Jerónimo, PLMJ
sumer rights, cultural heritage, state-owned property, and private enforcement of competition law. Class actions are expressly provided for in the Portu- guese Constitution. The general legal framework for class actions is established in the Class Actions Act (83/95), which is applicable to all areas and sectors of law. There are also sector-specific class action rules, as follows: • environmental policy – Law 19/2014 of 14 April; • consumer protection – Consumer Protection Class Actions Act; • cultural heritage – Law 107/2001 of 8 September; • securities code – Decree-Law 486/99 of 13 November; and • breach of competition law – Law 23/2018 of 5 June (“Private Damages Act”). Outside the scope of class actions, the parties in civil proceedings are generally allowed to file collective actions (eg, when multiple claimants join their claims because they hold the same or similar interests). When two or more similar proceedings are pending before the court and the necessary legal requirements are met, the cases may be joined at the request of the parties or by the court’s decision, made on its own motion. In civil cases, these collective redress mecha- nisms are provided for in the Civil Procedure Code. Please refer to 2.3 Definition of Collective Redress/ Class Actions for further details. 2.2 Scope of Areas of Law to Which the Legislation Applies Portugal has a procedural mechanism for class actions at the national level, enshrined in the Class Action Act (83/95), aimed at protecting various interests, includ- ing the environment, public health, consumer rights, cultural heritage, state-owned property, and private enforcement of competition law. The general legal framework for class actions applies to all areas and sectors of law. There are also sector-specific class action rules, as mentioned in 2.1 Collective Redress and Class Action Legislation .
The other collective redress mechanisms referred to in 2.1 Collective Redress and Class Action Legis- lation apply to civil and administrative proceedings, respectively. 2.3 Definition of Collective Redress/Class Actions Portuguese law does not provide for a statutory defini- tion of what constitutes collective redress or a class action. Class actions are a form of collective redress, but not all forms of collective redress are class actions. Collective Redress in Civil Proceedings Portuguese law allows for multi-party/joint proceed- ings – that is, separate proceedings that are managed and heard together – in any of the following situations: • multiple claimants join their individual claims into one action (joinder of parties); • two or more existing proceedings have a significant connection between them and are joined with a view to avoiding inconsistent decisions (joinder of actions); or • there is an assignment of claims to special-pur- pose vehicles, where several individual claims are assigned to a special-purpose vehicle that acts as a claimant. There are no formal limitations on the number of claims or claimants that may be joined in the same In a class action, an individual or group of individu- als, associations, foundations, local authorities or, in respect of certain matters, the public prosecutor and the Directorate-General for Consumers may bring an action in representation of a larger group of people. The Portuguese class action regime provides for an opt-out procedure. This means that there is no need for a specific mandate or authorisation from each member of the class. There is also no specific defini- tion of a class, nor is a class determined by preliminary certification. proceedings. Class Actions
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