🇵🇹 Portugal news, in English, every morning. Free. Subscribe

The Portugal Brief

Home
Politics
Economy
Guides
About

Sign in Subscribe

Justice

The modern grey facade of the Policia Judiciaria (Judicial Police) headquarters in Lisbon, with vertical metal louvres, dark glazing and perimeter security fencing

Justice Minister Stands By Interior Minister Luís Neves as a Construction-Contracts Inquiry Reaches His Odemira Home

Justice Minister Rita Alarcao Judice has defended Interior Minister Luis Neves, saying he is 'managing the process the best way he knows how,' as a probe into construction firm Construbarcelos — €1.9M in public contracts and works on his Odemira home — draws in the government.

The Portugal Brief 26 Jul 2026

The red Continente 'bom dia' supermarket sign above a Portuguese hypermarket entrance, with a long rack of grey shopping trolleys parked outside the glass frontage

Beer, Supermarket and Railway Cartel Fines Worth €82 Million Are Set to Expire This Summer as Portugal's Anti-Trust Appeals Run Out of Time

Around €82 million in Autoridade da Concorrência fines against Super Bock, the hypermarket chains Continente, Pingo Doce and Auchan, and a railway-maintenance cartel are set to prescribe this summer — extinguished by the clock after their appeals froze in the courts. Parliament's fix came too late.

The Portugal Brief 26 Jul 2026

The entrance sign of the Campus de Justica de Lisboa, Lisbon's justice campus, with a suited man walking past the glass-fronted court buildings

Portugal Rejects Sócrates's Claim to Europe's Human-Rights Court That His Corruption Prosecution Was Unfair

In observations filed by the 23 July deadline, the Portuguese State told the European Court of Human Rights it committed no violation over Operação Marquês. Strasbourg had asked about the case's duration, information leaks and domestic remedies. Sócrates now has about six weeks to reply.

The Portugal Brief 25 Jul 2026

The Campus de Justica de Lisboa courthouse complex in Parque das Nacoes, Lisbon, Portugal

The Government Builds a 30-Day Chamber for Public-Contract Disputes and an Out-of-Court Route to Claim From the State

Thursday's Council of Ministers approved a chamber to settle public-contract disputes in about 30 days, plus an administrative route to claim compensation for state-caused physical harm within a year — without going to court. Justice Minister Rita Alarcão Júdice announced the reform.

The Portugal Brief 24 Jul 2026

The red Continente Bom Dia sign above a supermarket entrance in Portugal, with a row of shopping trolleys parked outside the glass doors

Lisbon's Appeal Court Revives the €34.4 Million Fine Against EDP and Sonae Four Months After a Lower Court Wrote It Off

The Tribunal da Relação de Lisboa ruled on Thursday that the case over the 2012 EDP Continente card partnership has not expired, reversing a March decision that had voided €34.4 million in fines. The authority says 19 cases worth over €880 million face the same clock.

The Portugal Brief 23 Jul 2026

The illuminated facade of a Bank of Portugal building at night

A Constitutional Court Ruling Upends the Extra Bank Contributions That Feed Portugal's Resolution Fund

The Constitutional Court has ruled that letting the Bank of Portugal set the annual rate of the banks' additional Resolution Fund contributions violates the Constitution, in a case brought by a bank contesting €36.89 million in charges — a crack in the mechanism that pays for the BES collapse.

The Portugal Brief 23 Jul 2026

The Campus de Justica de Lisboa courthouse complex in Parque das Nacoes, Lisbon, Portugal

Portugal Proposes Specialised Immigration Courts and an End to Lisbon's Monopoly on AIMA Lawsuits

A reform taken to Thursday's Council of Ministers would create court sections specialised in immigration and asylum and let residents sue AIMA in their home district instead of a single Lisbon court — after Brussels found administrative cases now take an average of 861 days to decide.

The Portugal Brief 23 Jul 2026

Subscribe to The Portugal Brief

Don't miss out on the latest news. Sign up now to get access to the library of members-only articles.

Sign up
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Partner with Us
Editorial Standards

The Portugal Brief © 2026. Powered by Ghost

Operated by Thrifty Explorations LLC.

[email protected]