Portugal

• The Constitution of 1976, the highest law
• The Civil Code (1966), the Penal Code and other national codes and statutes
• European Union law, which takes priority in its area
• Court decisions and scholarly writing, which guide the courts but are not formal precedent

• The Supreme Court of Justice at the top of the ordinary courts
• The Supreme Administrative Court, for disputes with public bodies (administrative and tax courts are a separate branch)
• The Constitutional Court, which reviews whether laws respect the Constitution
• Courts of appeal and first-instance courts

A law degree, then a period of supervised traineeship and examinations run by the Bar Association (Ordem dos Advogados), followed by registration with the Bar.

• Administrative and tax disputes have their own courts, as in France.
• Public prosecutors form a separate, independent body (the Ministério Público) with its own career.
• The Constitutional Court can review laws both before and after they take effect.
• Portuguese law is the root of the private law of Brazil and of the Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa and Asia.

Brazil, Spain, France, Italy, Angola

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Portugal as: Civil law. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria.

• Constitutional Court of Portugal
• Bar Association of Portugal (Ordem dos Advogados)

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.