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The long modernist elevation of the Palacio da Justica courthouse in Lisbon, raised on concrete pilotis above a car park, seen from the side under an overcast sky.

Julgados de Paz in Portugal in 2026: A Practical Guide to the 15,000 Euro Ceiling, the 70 Euro Fee the Losing Party Pays, and the Appeal Line at 2,500 Euros

Portugal's small local courts settle civil disputes below 15,000 euros without a lawyer and with nothing to pay up front. What they can decide, what they cannot, how a case runs, and the online platform that will not take a foreign citizen.

The Portugal Brief 12 Sep 2026

A construction worker in a helmet and fall-arrest harness standing on a tower crane mast against open sky in Lisbon, guiding the yellow slewing unit down into place.

Work Accidents in Portugal in 2026: A Practical Guide to Lei 98/2009, the 48 Hours to Report One, the Commute That Counts, and What the Insurer Must Pay

Work accident cover in Portugal does not come from Social Security. It comes from an insurer your employer must name on your payslip. What counts as an accident, what the commute covers, the three reporting deadlines, and the percentages of pay the law guarantees.

The Portugal Brief 11 Sep 2026

A woman and a child at a Multibanco cash machine set into the stone facade of a building in Lisbon, with calcada paving in the foreground.

From October a Personal Loan for Education or Health May Not Legally Exceed 8.2 Percent, and the Used-Car Ceiling Moves the Other Way to 14.3

The Bank of Portugal set the fourth-quarter consumer credit ceilings on Friday. Personal credit falls, car credit rises in all four categories, and credit cards hold at 18.5 percent. The caps are a measurement of last quarter's market, not a decision about the next one.

The Portugal Brief 11 Sep 2026

The Media Regulator Finds Lusa's New Statutes Outside the Law, With the One Safeguard Against Government Control Postponed to 2030

The ERC ruled on Wednesday that the restructuring of Portugal's state-owned news agency does not comply with the applicable framework, and that rules of this kind belong in a law of parliament rather than a shareholder resolution.

The Portugal Brief 11 Sep 2026

The glass towers of the Campus de Justica in Lisbon's Parque das Nacoes under an overcast sky, seen from the road

The Rato Police Trial Began on Friday With Thirty-Six Charges Against Two Officers, and the Indictment Says Most Victims Were Foreign or Homeless

The main defendant faces 29 charges including six of torture and five of rape; the second faces seven. Prosecutors say images of the abuse were shared in WhatsApp groups with dozens of other PSP officers.

The Portugal Brief 11 Sep 2026

A carved stone lintel reading Ministerio das Financas above a green doorway in the east wing of Lisbon's Praca do Comercio

Twenty of Thirty-Eight Audited State Bodies Run No Staff Rotation at All, and Thirteen Never Reported the Whistleblower Complaints They Took In

The finance inspectorate audited how Portugal's anti-corruption regime is applied across 38 public entities in 2024. Nearly all had the required documents; a large share were not doing what the documents say.

The Portugal Brief 11 Sep 2026

A closed village shop in Cercal, Portugal: a red painted building with the old sign Mercearia e Fazendas, Vinhos e Tabacos, Manuel Costa on the wall and the shop doors shuttered.

Closing a Business in Portugal in 2026: A Practical Guide to the 30-Day Cessation Declaration, the Same-Day Route, the Two-Year Liquidation, and the Debts That Follow the Shareholders

Portugal makes a company easy to open and slower to close. A freelancer files one declaration within 30 days. A company has to be dissolved, liquidated and struck off, unless every member signs minutes saying there is nothing left to divide.

The Portugal Brief 11 Sep 2026

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