PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Bárbara Marinho e Pinto, Amanda Bueno Almeida and Lua Mota Santos, Rogério Alves & Associados Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL
• If the maximum custodial sentence is one year or more, the statute of limitation period is five years. • When the penalty is less than one year in prison or when the crime is punishable only by a fine, the statute of limitation period is two years. • For corruption-related offences, a special rule in Article 118 (1)(a) of the Penal Code provides a 15-year limitation period. This applies to: (a) influence peddling; (b) undue receipt of an advantage by public of - ficials and political office holders; (c) passive corruption by public officials, politi - cal office holders, and in the context of sports competitions; (d) active corruption by public officials and politi - cal office holders; (e) embezzlement; (f) economic participation in business; (g) concussion; (h) abuse of office; (i) breach of official secrecy; (j) breach of the secrecy of correspondence and telecommunications; (k) influence peddling in the context of sports competitions; (l) corruption in international trade and in the pri - vate sector; (m) offences provided for in the Code of Military Justice concerning corruption, embezzlement and other military officials’ offences; (n) fraud in obtaining a subsidy or subvention; and (o) the offence of criminal association, provided that the purpose or activity of the group, organisation or association is directed to the commission of certain of the above-mentioned crimes of corruption. 1.5 Proprietary Claims Against Property Claims for civil damages arising from the commission of a criminal offence are, as a rule, brought within the corresponding criminal proceedings, subject to statu - tory exceptions. Accordingly, in certain circumstances – particularly where the criminal proceedings are pro - tracted – the injured party may, if they wish, bring the claim before the civil courts. Under Portuguese law – specifically the Civil Code and the Insolvency and Corporate Restructuring
Code (CIRE) – a victim’s claim arising from a crime- based civil liability may take precedence over other unsecured creditors in insolvency, in defined circum - stances. 1.6 Rules of Pre-Action Conduct Strictly speaking, Portuguese law has no counterpart to the Anglo‑Saxon “Rules of Pre‑Action Conduct” – that is, no general, cross‑cutting set of specific, structured duties that parties must satisfy before commencing civil proceedings, on pain of stand‑alone procedural sanctions. That said, the relatively recent legislative framework on combating corruption and related offences is noteworthy in this context, as it incorporates a strong preventive dimension that mer - its particular attention. Decree-Law No 109-E/2021, of 9 December, estab - lishes a general regime for the prevention of corruption in Portugal, whereby entities with 50 or more employ - ees are obliged to implement a set of documents in their organisation (Code of Ethics and Conduct, Plan for the Prevention of Risks of Corruption and Related Offences, Training Policy and Whistleblowing Chan - nel), designed to ensure knowledge of and compli - ance with the rules related to this issue. This legal framework means that companies and pub - lic entities that fail to adopt or implement their compli - ance programmes in an incomplete or flawed manner will face penalties, including administrative offences. It is also mandatory for these entities to create internal control mechanisms to ensure that their compliance programmes work and that their decisions are made in a transparent and fair manner. For entities to adjust, the application of these new rules requires a progres - sive attitude. Finally, there is the National Anti-Corruption Mecha - nism (MENAC), Portugal’s independent administrative authority for corruption prevention. In essence, it: • sets, promotes and oversees anti‑corruption com - pliance programmes in public bodies and certain private entities; • issues guidance and standards on risk‑prevention plans, whistle-blowing channels, conflicts of inter - est and training;
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