

First of all, it should be noted that the replies given in this factsheet refer only to judicial courts (commonly referred to as ordinary courts (tribunais comuns) in Portugal. In addition to judicial courts, there are other categories of court: the Constitutional Court, administrative courts, the Audit Court (Tribunal de contas). There are also Justices of the Peace (Julgados de Paz) and courts of arbitration (Tribunais arbitrais).
To find out which category has jurisdiction, the following rule applies: the judicial courts have jurisdiction over cases which are not assigned to another category of court.
Moreover, within the category of judicial courts, the opposite of a specialised court is not an ordinary civil court. The opposite of a specialised court is a court of general jurisdiction. The choice between a specialised bench (juízo) or court and a bench or court of general jurisdiction depends on the subject-matter of the action and, in certain cases, which are indicated below, it also depends on how much the case is worth.
The following laws apply:
The judicial courts of first instance are, as a general rule, broken down into courts with wider territorial jurisdiction (Tribunais de competência territorial alargada) and district courts (Tribunais de comarca) (Article 33 of Law No 62/2013).
To find out which court of first instance you should apply to, the following points also need to be considered.
In specific cases, proceedings exist which must be brought before and heard by authorities other than judicial courts. Depending on the case, these proceedings are referred to the court with jurisdiction at certain stages: when there is a challenge, appeal, or need to approve certain decisions. This is the case with the following proceedings:
In this reply, ordinary local civil courts are understood to be the local civil benches and benches with general jurisdiction at the district courts. The jurisdiction of these courts is defined by default, in other words, they have jurisdiction when no other section or specialised court has jurisdiction. They also have jurisdiction when the value of the case is low.
You should therefore go to the local civil bench or, should none exist, to the local bench with general jurisdiction at the district court, when the following cases are involved:
To find out whether you should apply to the civil local bench or local bench with general jurisdiction, or to a specialised central bench, please also see the reply to question 3 below Where specialised courts have jurisdiction; how can I find out which one I have to address?.
According to the rules of jurisdiction with respect to hierarchy, judicial courts are divided into courts of first instance, Courts of Appeal (Tribunais da Relação)(or courts of second instance) and the Supreme Court of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de Justiça), which is the judicial court of last instance (Article 42 of Law No 62/2013).
The law provides for cases where the admissibility of the appeal depends on the limit of the courts:
Actions must be brought and commence before courts of first instance. Furthermore, courts of first instance have jurisdiction to hear appeals against the decisions of notaries and registrars and other decisions provided for by law. To determine which court of first instance has jurisdiction, it is necessary to apply the jurisdictional rules on subject-matter, value and territory, which will be set out in the replies to the questions below.
In principle, Courts of Appeal hear only appeals lodged against decisions of courts of first instance. Exceptionally, the law confers on them jurisdiction to certain cases at first instance. Appeal courts also hear conflicts of jurisdiction between courts of first instance, complaints against orders made at first instance and the review of foreign court judgments in civil and commercial matters.
The Supreme Court of Justice hears appeals against judgments delivered by Courts of Appeal. In special cases provided for by the law, it hears appeals against judgments made at first instance. Exceptionally, the law confers on it jurisdiction to hear certain cases as the court of first and last instance. The Supreme Court of Justice also hears cases involving conflicts of jurisdiction between Courts of Appeal and exceptional review procedures for the standardisation of case-law.
Courts of first instance
In Portugal, there are 23 District Courts (tribunais judiciais de comarca):
(Article 33 of Law No 62/2013).
In addition to these courts, there are courts of wider territorial jurisdiction, of which the following three also have civil and commercial jurisdiction:
(Article 83 of Law No 62/2013).
Courts of Appeal
At second instance, there are five Courts of Appeal referred to by the name of the municipality where they are located:
(Annex I as referred to in Article 32(1) of Law No 62/2013).
Final instance
(Article 31 of Law No 62/2013).
The Supreme Court of Justice has jurisdiction over the whole of Portugal. Courts of Appeal and courts of first instance have jurisdiction within their respective judicial districts, which are defined in the law on the organisation of the judicial system (Law No 62/2013 of 26 August 2013). To find out if the court of city A or city B has jurisdiction, it is necessary to consult Annexes I, II and III to the abovementioned law on the organisation of the judicial system.
Natural persons
The court of the defendant’s domicile has jurisdiction unless otherwise provided for in a specific legal provision or in the rules set out below (Article 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure):
Legal persons and companies
If the defendant is the State, in cases where the court of the defendant’s domicile would have jurisdiction, jurisdiction passes to the court of the plaintiff’s domicile (Article 81 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
If the defendant is another legal person or a company, the court of the place of its head office or of the place of its branch, agency, subsidiary, delegation or representation will have jurisdiction, depending on whether the action is brought against the legal person or the latter entities.
However, cases brought against foreign legal persons or companies which have a branch, agency, subsidiary, delegation or representation in Portugal may be brought in courts in the areas where these have their registered addresses even where application is made for service on the head office.
Multiple defendants and cumulative applications (Article 82 of the Code of Civil Procedure)
When there is more than one defendant in the same case, they must all be sued in the court where the majority of them are domiciled. If the number of defendants in the different domiciles is the same, the plaintiff may choose the court of the domicile of any of the defendants.
If the plaintiff is making multiple applications for which various courts would have territorial jurisdiction, the plaintiff may choose any of the courts to bring the action.
The only exception to this is situations where the court is able to assess of its own motion whether it lacks jurisdiction with regard to any of the applications for territorial or value reasons or under an agreement. Where the court deter this case, the action must be brought before the court with jurisdiction over the application concerned. This is what happens, for example, in certain cases where jurisdiction to hear one of the applications depends on the situation of the immovable property or the place of compliance with the obligation. It also applies in cases involving a protective order (providência cautelar) or preparatory steps (diligência antecipada) and to cases in which judges or certain of their relatives are parties, certain enforcement proceedings, cases which must be joined to other cases, cases where notice is not served on the defendant before judgment or cases where the court does not have jurisdiction due to the value of the case.
When there are multiple applications between which there exists a relationship of dependency or subsidiarity, the case must be brought before the court which has jurisdiction to hear the main application.
Action where one of the parties is a judge, a judge’s spouse or certain relatives (Article 84 of the Code of Civil Procedure)
For actions involving a judge, a judge’s spouse, any of the judge’s relatives in the descending or ascending line or a person with whom the judge lives together in a shared household and where such cases must be brought in the judicial district where the judge exercises jurisdiction, the main court of the judicial district which is closest to the judge’s judicial district has jurisdiction.
If the action is brought in the judicial district where the judge prevented from acting exercises jurisdiction or if such a judge is posted there and the case is already being heard, the case is transferred to the closest judicial district.
The abovementioned rules do not apply to judicial districts where there is more than one judge, as in this event, the action is assigned or transferred to a different judge in the same judicial district.
Hearing of appeals
Appeals must be brought before the court to which the court from whose decision the appeal is brought is hierarchically subordinate (Article 83 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
The following is a joint reply to these three questions.
Jurisdiction of the location of assets
Actions involving rights in rem or in personam over immovable property, the division of jointly owned property, eviction, right of pre-emption, and foreclosure, as well as actions involving the remortgaging, substitution, reduction or release of mortgages must be brought before the court for the area where the property in question is located.
However, actions involving the remortgaging, substitution, reduction or release of mortgages on ships or aircraft are brought in the court of the judicial district of the relevant place of registration. If the mortgage covers ships or aircraft registered in several judicial districts, the plaintiff can opt for any of these.
When the object of the action is a group of moveable items belonging to the same person and intended for a single use, or movable and immovable assets, or real estate assets situated in different judicial districts, the action in question is brought in the court in the district where the most valuable immovable assets are located. For this purpose, the land register values will be used. If the immovable asset which is the object of the action is located in more than one judicial district, the plaintiff may opt to bring the action in any of those judicial districts (Article 70 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
Competence for compliance with the obligation
Actions seeking enforcement of obligations, compensation for non-compliance or for incomplete compliance with obligations and termination of a contract due to non-compliance are brought in the court of the defendant's domicile.
The creditor may opt for the court at the place where the obligation should have been fulfilled when the defendant is a legal person or when, the domicile of the creditor being located in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon or Porto, the defendant is domiciled in the same metropolitan area.
In an action to establish civil liability based on an unlawful act or risk, the court with jurisdiction is the court of the place where the act occurred (Article 71 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
Divorce and separation
The court with jurisdiction over divorce and legal separation proceedings is that of the area of domicile or residence of the plaintiff (Article 72 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
Actions for payment of fees
For seeking payment of the fees of legal representatives or experts and recovery of sums advanced to the client, the court with jurisdiction is the court in which the service was provided. Actions seeking the payment of fees are joined to the case for which the service was provided.
If the case in which the service was provided was brought in the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court of Justice, the action seeking payment of fees must be heard in the District Court of the debtor’s domicile (Article 73 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
Determination and apportionment of general average
The court of the port where the cargo of a ship that has suffered general average was or should have been delivered has jurisdiction to determine and apportion general average (Article 74 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
Loss and damage due to a collision between ships
An action for loss and damage due to a collision between ships may be brought in the court of the area where the accident occurred, the court of the domicile of the owner of the ship which struck the other, the court of the place where this ship is based or where it is located, or the court of the place of the first port of call of the ship which was struck (Article 75 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
Awards for salvaging or assisting ships
Applications seeking payment of the awards due for salvaging or assisting ships may be lodged in the court of the place where the event occurred, of the place of domicile of the owner of the salvaged objects or of the place where the salvaged ship is registered or is to be found (Article 76 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
Extinction of liens over ships
An action for a declaration that a ship acquired free of charge or for consideration is free of any liens is brought in the court of the port where the ship is anchored at the time of acquisition (Article 77 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
Interim measures and preparatory steps
Applications for seizure and impounding of goods may be made to the court where the corresponding action must be brought, or in the place where the assets are located or, if there are assets in a number of districts, in any one of them.
For a protective order seeking the immediate suspension of new construction works (embargo de obra nova), the court of the place where the works are to be done has jurisdiction.
For other interim measures, the court with jurisdiction is the court before which the corresponding action is to be brought.
Preparatory steps taken to produce evidence are requested in the court of the district in which the steps are to be taken.
Proceedings for interim measures and preparatory steps to produce evidence are joined to the corresponding action and, if necessary, transferred to the court in which the action was brought (Article 78 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
Judicial notifications
Applications for judicial notifications are made to the court of the district in which the person to be notified resides (Article 79 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
Enforcement (Article 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure)
As a general rule, the court of the debtor’s domicile has jurisdiction for enforcement unless otherwise provided for in a specific legal provision or in the rules set out below.
The party applying for enforcement may opt for the court of the place where the obligation is to be performed when the party against whom enforcement is sought is a legal person or when the domicile of the party applying for enforcement is in the metropolitan area of Lisbon or Porto and the party against whom enforcement is sought is domiciled in the same metropolitan area.
If the enforcement proceedings seek the return of goods or a debt secured in rem, the court of the place where the item is located or the place where the encumbered assets are to be found are respectively has jurisdiction.
When enforcement proceedings must be brought in the court of the place of domicile of the party against whom enforcement is sought and that party has no domicile in Portugal but they do have assets there, jurisdiction for the enforcement proceedings lies with the court for the place where the assets are located.
The court where the assets are located also has jurisdiction when: the enforcement proceedings must be brought in a Portuguese court as they concern the validity of the formation/winding-up of companies/other legal persons with a registered office in Portugal, or the validity of decisions of their organs; and none of the situations provided for in the preceding or following rules applicable to enforcement proceedings apply.
In cases involving several enforcements proceedings which fall within the territorial jurisdiction of different courts, the court of the place of domicile of the party against whom enforcement is sought has jurisdiction.
In the enforcement of a decision by the Portuguese courts, the enforcement application is made as part of the proceedings in which the decision was handed down is recorded in the same case file. If the case has subsequently gone to appeal, the enforcement is included in the certified copy. When a specialised section has jurisdiction for enforcement, a copy of the judgment, the application initiating the enforcement proceedings and the accompanying documents must be sent to this specialised section as a matter of urgency.
If the decision was made by arbitrators in an arbitration procedure which took place in Portugal, the court with jurisdiction for enforcement is the District Court of the place where the arbitration procedure took place (Article 85 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
If the action was brought before the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court of Justice, the court of the domicile of the party against whom enforcement is sought has jurisdiction. If the party against whom enforcement is sought is a judge or certain relatives of the judge, the rules apply as mentioned above in Cases where one of the parties is a judge, a judge’s spouse or certain relatives. In any event, the case file relating to the declaratory proceedings or a copy thereof is sent to the court with jurisdiction for enforcement (Article 86 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
In enforcement proceedings relating to costs, fines or compensation due to vexatious litigation, the court where the proceedings led to notification of the respective bill or settlement has jurisdiction. Enforcement proceedings relating to costs, fines or compensation are joined to the corresponding case.
When the order to pay costs, fines or compensation was made in the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court of Justice, the enforcement proceedings take place in the court of first instance which has jurisdiction in the area where the proceedings took place (Articles 87 and 88 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
For enforcement based on a foreign judgment, the court of the defendant’s domicile has jurisdiction (Article 86, pursuant to Article 90 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
For a European order for payment, (Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 of 12 December 2006, amended by Regulation (EU) 2015/2421), the District Court of Porto, central instance, 1st civil section has jurisdiction.
Labour law
As a general rule, actions must be brought before the court of the defendant’s domicile. Employers or insurers, as well as social security institutions are also considered to be domiciled in the place where they have a branch, agency, delegation or representation (Article 13 of the Law governing employment courts).
Actions arising from an employment contract brought by a worker against their employer may be lodged in the court of the place where the work is performed or the place where the worker is domiciled.
If there are several plaintiffs, the court of the place where the work performed or of the place where any of the plaintiffs has their domicile has jurisdiction.
If the work is performed in more than one place, the cases arising from the employment contract may be brought in the court of any of those places (Article 14 of the Law governing employment courts).
Actions arising from work accidents and occupational disease must be brought in the court of the place where the accident occurred or where the sick person last worked in a job that could have caused the illness.
If the accident occurs abroad, the action must be brought in Portugal, in the court of the place of the victim's domicile.
If there are several beneficiaries, the court of the place of residence of the greatest number of applicants has jurisdiction or, if the number of applicants is equal, the court of the place of residence of the first person to make an application.
If the injured or sick worker or the beneficiary is registered as a seaman or aircraft crew member and the accident takes place during a journey or the disease is found during a journey, the court of the first place on national territory reached by the ship or aircraft or the place where the ship or aircraft is registered also has jurisdiction for the case in question (Article 15 of the Law governing employment courts).
In the case of collective redundancies, interim measures of suspension and challenges must be brought in the court of the place where the establishment where work is performed is located.
If the collective redundancy affects workers in several establishments, the court of the place where the establishment with the largest number of dismissed workers is located has jurisdiction (Article 16 of the Law governing employment courts).
Insolvency
For insolvency proceedings, the court with jurisdiction is the court of the place of registered office or domicile of the debtor or of the testator at the date of death, depending on the case.
The court of the place where the debtor has the centre of their main interests also has jurisdiction. This is understood to be the place where the debtor habitually administers such interests in a manner which is habitual and ascertainable by third parties (Article 16 of the Code of Insolvency and Corporate Recovery).
The publication and registration in a public register of a foreign judgment opening proceedings, referred to in Articles 21 and 22 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1346/2000 of 29 May 2000, must be requested in the Portuguese court in the area where the debtor’s establishment is located. Where the debtor does not have an establishment in Portugal, the request must be made to the Lisbon commercial section, should the insolvent estate involve a company. Should the insolvent estate not involve a company, the Lisbon civil section has jurisdiction.
The abovementioned rule of jurisdiction applies to the recognition of the insolvency declaration in a foreign case (Article 288 of the Code of Insolvency and Corporate Recovery).
Inventory of succession
For jurisdiction in inventory of succession proceedings, see the factsheet on succession.
Maintenance for adults and minors and determination of parental responsibility
For jurisdiction in declaratory actions relating to maintenance payments for adults and minors, in enforcement thereof and in actions relating to the determination of parental responsibilities, see the factsheet on maintenance.
Yes, within certain limits.
Domestically, by express agreement, the parties may decide to depart from the rules on territorial competence. This is the so-called agreed jurisdiction (competência convencional)(Article 95 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
Agreed jurisdiction may not be established in cases in which the court may declare, of its own motion, lack of territorial jurisdiction. This is what happens, for example, where the court's jurisdiction depends on the situation of the immovable property, the place of performance of the obligation, or in the case of a protective order or preparatory steps. It also applies in actions where the parties are judges or certain of their relatives, certain enforcement proceedings, cases which must be joined to other cases and cases where notice is not served on the defendant before judgment. In these cases, it is not possible to depart from territorial jurisdiction by agreement.
It is never possible to depart from the rules of jurisdiction as to subject-matter, hierarchy and the value of the case at the discretion of the parties.
Jurisdiction based on agreement, where admissible, is as mandatory as that enacted by law. Such agreement must meet the formal requirements of the contract, which is the source of the obligation. In any case, the agreement must be in writing and must specify the issues to which it relates and the criterion applied to determine the court which will have jurisdiction.
Internationally, the parties may agree which court has jurisdiction to settle a specific dispute, or disputes which may arise from a certain legal relationship, provided that the relationship at issue has a connection with more than one legal system. These are the private agreements conferring jurisdiction (pactos privativos e atributivos de jurisdição) (Article 94 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
Designation by agreement may involve conferring exclusive jurisdiction or jurisdiction which is merely an alternative to that of the Portuguese courts, where it exists. It is presumed to be exclusive in cases of doubt.
The choice of jurisdiction is valid only when all the following conditions are met:
Both in the case of agreed competence (domestic), and in the case of private agreements conferring jurisdiction (international), a written agreement is considered to be any document signed by the parties or emerging from an exchange of letters, telexes, telegrams or other means of communication which leave written proof, whether these instruments contain the agreement directly or contain a clause referring to another document containing the agreement.
In employment courts, agreements or clauses for the exclusion of the territorial jurisdiction provided for by law are null and void (Article 19 of the Law governing employment courts).
As already mentioned, in Portugal the specialised courts at first instance are the central benches at each District Court, the civil local benches and courts with wider jurisdiction.
The subject-matter jurisdiction of each of them will be mentioned below to show which of them you should apply to, depending on the subject-matter of the dispute. As already explained, as a rule, the case starts in the courts of first instance and is only referred to higher courts in the event of an appeal.
Civil central benches (Article 117 of Law No 62/2013)
Central family and juvenile benches
(Civil status of persons and family)(Article 122 of Law No 62/2013)
(Minors and adult children)(Article 123 of Law No 62/2013)
(Educational and protective guardianship matters) (Article 124 of Law No 62/2013)
Note
The jurisdiction of central family and juvenile benches with respect to educational and protective guardianship matters ceases if: a non-suspended penalty involving deprivation of liberty is applied in criminal proceedings for a crime committed by a minor aged between 16 and 18; or the minor turns 18 years old before the date of the decision at first instance.
Central benches for employment
(Civil matters) (Article 126 of Law No 62/2013)
(With regard to administrative offences)
Commercial central benches (Article 128 of Law No 62/2013)
Central enforcement benches (Juízos centrais de execução) (Article 129 of Law No 62/2013)
COURTS WITH WIDER JURISDICTION
Intellectual Property Court (Tribunal da propriedade intelectual) (Article 111 of Law No 62/2013).
(Competition, Regulation and Supervision Court)(Tribunal da concorrência, regulação e supervisão) (Article 112 of Law No 62/2013)
Maritime Court(Tribunal marítimo) (Article 113 of Law No 62/2013).
HIGHER COURTS
Courts of Appeal (Article 67 of Law No 62/2013).
At second instance, Courts of Appeal include sections for civil matters, criminal matters, social matters, family and juvenile matters, commercial matters, intellectual property and competition, regulation and supervision. However, the creation of social, family and juvenile, commercial, intellectual property and competition, regulation and supervision sections depends on the volume and complexity of the service.
Supreme Court of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de Justiça) (Article 47 of Law No 62/2013)
At final instance, the Supreme Court of Justice has sections for civil matters, criminal matters and social matters.
Relevant legislation
Law governing employment courts
Code of Insolvency and Corporate Recovery
The Contact Point, the courts or other entities and authorities are not bound by the information contained in this factsheet. The legal texts in force and subsequent amendments thereto must also be consulted.
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