Without prejudice to what is established in treaties, conventions, European Union regulations and special laws, no decision on private rights, issued by a foreign court is effective in Portugal, whatever the nationality of the parts, without being reviewed and confirmed.
This review and confirmation are done through the lawsuit of review and confirmation of foreign judgments, which verifies whether the foreign judgment can produce effects in Portugal.
It is important to emphasize that it is always mandatory to appoint a lawyer to file this lawsuit.
As regards decisions from European Union countries, there is no need for confirmation/revision of decisions by a Portuguese court, by virtue of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2201/2003 of Nov. 27, 2003, concerning jurisdiction, recognition, and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, which revoked Regulation (EC) No. 1347/2000, and may be transposed and confirmed automatically in the civil registry offices.
The most common cases of revision/confirmation of foreign judgements in Portugal are divorce judgements, adoption judgements and regulation of parental responsibilities.
For more information, please contact Ana Santos Fontes at ana.fontes@valadascoriel.com.
