PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: João Perry da Câmara, Teresa Silva Tavares, Sofia Vaz Pardal and Joana Salazar Gomes, Rogério Alves & Associados
3. Child Law 3.1 Choice of Jurisdiction in Children Proceedings
4/2009, dated 18 December 2008, in relation to ali ‑ mony arising out of a family relationship, parentage, marriage or affinity. The Regulation provides measures to facilitate the payment of alimony in cross-border situations. It regulates the way the orders should be enforced, whether issued by member states that are also obliged by the Hague Protocol of 2007 or by states not obliged under that Protocol. 2.8 Media Access and Transparency in Financial Proceedings In Portugal, family judicial processes are confidential, so only the lawyers and the parties can gain access. Parties are free to speak about the processes in which they are involved, but where processes relate to minors, they have the duty not to expose details relating to the children. Also, when one of the parties decides to disclose procedural information, they must take into consid ‑ eration the Personal Data Protection Act, which limits the possibility of public disclosure of personal data concerning any individual. 2.9 ADR in Financial Matters In Portugal, mediation is available as an alternative method of dispute resolution. It is not mandatory, and for that reason, there are no penalties for non-com ‑ pliance. If the parties decide to use mediation and they are able to reach an agreement, depending on the agreement concerned, different steps need to be taken. For instance, a divorce must always be decreed either by a judge or by a civil registry chief officer. An agreement reached concerning parental respon ‑ sibilities must always be supervised by the Public Prosecutor and approved by the court or by the civil registry chief officer. An agreement in relation to the division of assets involving real estate must be formalised in a public deed.
According to Portuguese law and the EU Regula ‑ tions that Portugal must comply with, the rule is that a court’s international competence is determined by the child’s habitual residence. In exceptional circumstances, the court of a mem ‑ ber state with jurisdiction to decide on the merits of a case can, on its own motion or at the request of one of the parties, suspend the process if it considers that a court of another member state with which the child has a particular connection is better placed to evaluate the best interests of the child, determining a deadline for the process to be transferred to the other court. The most important thing for a court to decide about a child is the consideration of their best interests. 3.2 Living/Contact Arrangements and Child Maintenance Each parent can ask the court to regulate the exercise of parental responsibilities, defining the following: • with whom the child will live; • whether the child will live with both parents (for instance, a week with each one); • the regime of visits (if it is established that the child lives with one parent); • the quantum of the alimony; and • the holidays the child will spend with each parent, etc. The court will always make decisions in the child’s best interests. Parents can decide how to regulate parental respon ‑ sibilities by mutual consent, or if they are not able to agree, they must apply to the court. In both situations, as there are minors involved, the Public Prosecutor must agree with the defined arrangement. The only restriction that the court has is to respect the best interests of the child, the right that the child has
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