PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Pedro Duro, Mariana Proença Lobo and Joana Avelino Gomes, CS’Associados
In general, whistle-blowers are entitled to legal protection, which means they may benefit from the witness protection measures provided for in criminal proceedings (Law No 93/99 of 14 July 1999). 6.5 Incentives Provided to Whistle- Blowers The main incentives for whistle-blowers are: • the possibility of anonymity; and • protection against retaliation. In some circumstances, a mitigation of the pen - alty is possible if the defendant, despite techni - cally not being a whistle-blower, aids the inves - tigation; that is, if they gather and provide the competent authorities with evidence that is rel - evant for the identification of other perpetrators and situations of corruption and/or bribery. 7. Enforcement Trends 7.1 Enforcement Anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws are subject to criminal enforcement. The Portuguese Corruption Prevention Frame - work foresees the existence of a national body specially created for the prevention of corrup - tion. This body, the National Anti-Corruption Mechanism ( Mecanismo Nacional Anticorrup- ção ), was formally created on 6 June 2023 by Decree ( Portaria ) No 155-B/2023 of 6 June 2023. In 2024, the National Anti-corruption Mechanism issued recommendations and guidelines for enti - ties obliged to create a compliance programme. 7.2 Enforcement Bodies The enforcement body for the above-mentioned offences is the Public Prosecutor’s Office (dur -
ing the investigation phase), assisted by criminal police bodies (such as the judiciary police) and criminal courts (for the trial phase). The National Anti-Corruption Mechanism acts mainly in a pre - ventative role, being the public body responsi - ble for the supervision of compliance with the duties foreseen in the Portuguese Corruption Prevention Framework. Considering its recent creation, interactions between the National Anti- Corruption Mechanism and the Public Prosecu - tion Office are not yet public knowledge. In April 2024, the National Anti-Corruption Mechanism published a report on judicial communications received in 2023. The report aims to analyse the decisions adopted in the various procedural stages by the respective criminal prosecution bodies (the Public Prosecutor’s Office in rela - tion to the inquiry and the courts in relation to the trial) in relation to the crimes falling under the Portuguese Corruption Prevention Framework. 7.3 Jurisdictional Reach of Enforcement Bodies The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the criminal courts are only competent to investigate and punish infractions in the terms referred in 3.2 Geographical Reach of Applicable Legislation . 7.4 Discretion for Mitigation and Aggravation Articles 281 and 282 of the Criminal Procedur - al Code allow a provisional suspension of the proceedings. This is possible only for crimes punishable with imprisonment for less than five years or a sanction different from imprisonment, and suspension is subject to approval by the defendant, the victim ( assistente ;when applica - ble), the public prosecutor and the court, pro - vided that the circumstances foreseen in Article 281, No 1, of the Criminal Procedural Code are fulfilled. A similar solution is provided for under
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