PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Rita Samoreno Gomes and Petra Carreira, PLMJ
If the court, of its own motion or on applica- tion by the parties, decides to request expert evidence, it will first indicate the subject matter and list certain questions to be answered by the expert(s), and may decide what data or docu- mentation should be made available for this pur- pose. The parties are given an opportunity to put forward a position on these issues in advance. The expert evidence may be conducted by one court-appointed expert or by a panel of three experts: one expert appointed by each party and the third expert appointed by the court. The appointed expert or panel of experts must submit the expert report to the court within the time limit set by the latter. As soon as the expert report is submitted, the parties may raise challenges or request clarifica- tions from the expert(s), which must be provided in writing. If the parties disagree with the expert report submitted before the court, they may also ask the court to order the production of a sec- ond expert report by a different expert or panel of experts. The parties may also request the presence of the experts at trial to provide clarifications on their report. No opinion may be given on the facts of the dispute. Expert witnesses called by the parties are not expressly allowed by Portuguese law. However, some judges allow experts to give evidence, even if they have no first-hand knowledge of the facts of the dispute, especially when the case is highly complex or involves very technical issues. Written expert reports by party-appoint- ed experts are not treated as expert evidence but are instead considered as part of the evi- dence and pleadings submitted by the relevant
party. Written expert reports by party-appointed experts may be filed up to the end of the trial at first instance. 7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public In principle, court sessions are public and the general public may attend. Nevertheless, hear- ings may be conducted in camera to safeguard: • the parties’ dignity or the intimacy of their private or family life; • public morals; or • the court’s normal functioning and the effec- tiveness of its decisions (eg, in the case of injunctions). 7.7 Level of Intervention by a Judge The level of intervention by a judge during a hearing or trial varies greatly and depends on each judge. Some judges limit themselves to complying with legal formalities and intervene only if necessary, whereas other judges inter- vene to a greater extent and preside over hear- ings and trials in an active way. Although it is possible for judgments to be deliv- ered at the end of the trial, this is not often the case. The overwhelming majority of judgments are reserved to a later date, because the judge has to weigh all the evidence taken at the trial and draft a written and fully reasoned judgment. 7.8 General Timeframes for Proceedings It is very difficult to estimate a general timeframe for court cases in Portugal. The duration of pro- ceedings depends on many different factors, such as:
• the court hearing the case; • the workload of that court; • the court’s schedule;
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