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Contact Point
Portugal has designated a contact point for the EJN-civil section (European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters). The contact point is a judge appointed by the Supreme Council of the Judiciary (Conselho Superior da Magistratura) by means of a competitive selection procedure (concurso).
National Network
The following are part of the national network: central authorities as specified in EU legal instruments, other international legal instruments to which Portugal is a party or national legal provisions in the area of judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters; administrative authorities with responsibilities in the area of judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters; and professional associations that represent legal practitioners directly involved in the application of international and EU instruments relating to judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters.
The national network does not have any liaison judges or experts among its members.
National Members of the Network
In addition to the contact point, the national structure of the network has twelve members:
- Directorate-General for Justice Policy (Direcção-Geral da Política de Justiça)
- Directorate-General for Justice Administration (Direcção-Geral da Administração da Justiça)
- Institute of Registry Offices and Notaries (Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado, I.P.)
- Institute for Financial Management and Infrastructure in the Justice System (Instituto de Gestão Financeira e Equipamentos da Justiça, I.P.)
- Council of Justices of the Peace (Conselho dos Julgados de Paz)
- Social Security Institute (Instituto de Segurança Social, I.P.)
- Committee for the Protection of Victims of Crime (Comissão de Protecção às Vítimas de Crimes)
- A judge from the International Hague Network of Judges
- Bar Association (Ordem dos Advogados)
- Association of Solicitors and Enforcement Agents (Ordem dos Solicitadores e dos Agentes de Execução)
- Notary Association (Ordem dos Notários)
- Prosecutor-General’s Office (Procuradoria-Geral da República)
Central Authorities
Of the above-mentioned members, the following are central authorities or entities competent to perform certain tasks provided for in EU law:
Directorate-General for Justice Administration – Ministry of Justice (Ministério da Justiça)
- Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 of 18 December 2008
- Regulation (EU) 2020/1784 of 25 November 2020
- Regulation (EU) 2020/1783 of 25 November 2020
- Hague Convention of 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters
- Hague Convention of 1970 on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters
- Hague Convention of 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance
- New York Convention of 1956 on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance
From 1 March 2024 the Directorate-General for Justice Administration will take over the responsibilities set out in the following legislation, hitherto assigned to the Directorate-General for Rehabilitation and Prison Services (Direcção-Geral de Reinserção e Serviços Prisionais):
- Regulation (EU) 2019/1111 of 25 June 2019
- Hague Convention of 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
- Hague Convention of 1996 on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children
Institute of Registry Offices and Notaries – Ministry of Justice
Social Security Institute – Ministry of Solidarity and Social Security (Ministério da Solidariedade e da Segurança Social)
Committee for the Protection of Victims of Crime – Ministry of Justice
Prosecutor-General’s Office (Procuradoria-Geral da República)
Coordination of the National Network in a non-hierarchical system
In Portugal, the national network is not hierarchical. Coordination, which is the responsibility of the contact point, is based on voluntary cooperation between national members, who regularly participate in quarterly meetings organised by the contact point. Whenever the application of EU law requires changes to be made to the national system, meetings are held that are restricted to the national members concerned.
The network does not have expert members. If an issue requires the opinion of an expert, the contact point requests the cooperation of the most appropriate national authority on a voluntary and informal basis. All national members are regularly encouraged by the contact point to cooperate in the specific areas under their remit and responsibility in relation to judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters.