PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: João Saúde, Miguel Santos Almeida, Alexandra Valpaços and Eduarda Peixoto, Sérvulo & Associados
trol of one of the parties, or of a third party who refuses to co-operate in providing it, the interested party may apply to the relevant state court for an order that the evidence be produced before the state court. In order to apply for the court’s assistance, the interested party must first seek the permission of the arbitral tribunal. The evidence produced before the state court must then be communicated to the arbitral tribunal.
agreed by the parties, the apportionment of the costs arising directly from the arbitral proceedings. Pursuant to the Portuguese Arbitration Law, the arbi - tral tribunal is required to notify the parties of the award within 12 months from the date on which the last arbitrator accepted the appointment, unless the parties have agreed, before the acceptance of the first arbitrator, on a different time limit. This period may be extended either by agreement of the parties or by a reasoned decision of the arbitral tribunal, on one or more occasions, for successive periods of up to 12 months. The parties may, however, jointly object to any such extension. 10.2 Types of Remedies An arbitral tribunal may render different types of awards and grant remedies comparable to those avail - able before the state courts, provided they fall within the scope of the arbitration agreement and concern arbitrable matters. As arbitral tribunals do not possess ius imperii (the coercive authority of the state), they are not empowered to enforce their own awards, which must instead be enforced through the state courts. The awards that may be issued include:
9. Confidentiality 9.1 Extent of Confidentiality
Arbitration proceedings in Portugal are generally con - fidential. Arbitrators, the parties and arbitral institu - tions are under a duty to keep confidential all infor - mation and documents obtained in the course of the arbitration. Information from arbitral proceedings may only be disclosed where such disclosure is necessary for the protection or enforcement of a party’s rights or is required by law, including in subsequent court or arbitral proceedings. That said, the publication of awards and other deci - sions of the arbitral tribunal with the identification of the parties redacted is allowed, unless any of the par - ties object to it. Finally, there are specific rules con - cerning arbitrations involving the state or state enti - ties, which set out restrictions on the confidentiality of the proceedings, under certain circumstances. 10. The Award 10.1 Legal Requirements For an arbitral award to be valid and enforceable, it must: • be in writing; • bear the signature of the arbitrator or arbitrators; and • include the reasons on which it is based, unless the parties have expressly waived the requirement for reasoning or the award merely records and approves a settlement. The award must further indicate the date of its issu - ance, the seat of the arbitration and, unless otherwise
• interim awards; • partial awards;
• awards on jurisdiction; • consent awards; and • final awards.
Although they lack enforcement powers, arbitral tribu - nals may grant substantially the same forms of relief as state courts, including declaratory relief, monetary compensation, specific performance and injunctive relief. 10.3 Recovering Interest and Legal Costs Under Portuguese law, interest may be awarded for both principal claims and costs, but the applicable rate depends on the nature of the claim and the par - ties’ agreement. Unless the parties have agreed otherwise, the arbitral award must determine how the costs arising direct -
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