Criminal and Administrative Offence Law

With extensive experience, our firm provides legal services across all areas of Criminal and Administrative Offence Law, offering comprehensive and tailor-made solutions for national and international clients. With an experienced team and in-depth knowledge of the Portuguese legal system, we deliver rigorous advisory services throughout all phases of criminal and administrative offence proceedings – from prevention and initial counselling to court defence and dispute resolution. Our commitment is to ensure effective defence, justice and excellent outcomes, fully adapted to our clients’ rights.

Practice Areas

Preventive Guidance and Strategic Consultancy

We assist clients in mitigating criminal and administrative offence risks, promoting compliance practices and preventive approaches. Our services include:

Proactive consultancy on criminal matters for companies and individuals.
Development of compliance systems to prevent legal violations.
Support in drafting formal complaints and denunciations.

Representation in Criminal Proceedings

We defend clients’ interests in investigations and criminal actions with tailor-made, robust strategies, including:

Defence at trial for offences against property, honour and other crimes.
Assistance during inquiries, including interrogations and search warrants.
Filing of appeals and applications for review of judicial decisions.
Legal services for constitution as assistente (private prosecutor) in criminal proceedings and civil compensation claims.
Defence in economic and financial crimes such as fraud, corruption, breach of trust, embezzlement and tax offences.
Defence in domestic violence, cybercrime, offences against persons and patrimonial crimes.

Defence in Violations of Human Rights and Constitutional Safeguards

Holistic approach in criminal proceedings ensuring invocation of constitutional safeguards, such as the right to a fair trial and prohibition of cruel or degrading treatment under the Portuguese Constitution.

Scope

Criminal proceedings involving acts against life, physical integrity, freedom, honour, privacy and sexual self-determination; patrimonial offences; crimes against society (family, forgery, common dangers, public safety and order); offences against the State (public authority, justice and official functions); economic, environmental, tax, cyber and industrial property crimes.

Criminal Law in Matters of Detention and Imprisonment

Guarantee of procedural rights: immediate assistance to detainees in temporary installation centres (CIT), border units or prison establishments, ensuring interpreters, consular contact and access to defence from the first interrogation.
Habeas corpus and review of coercive measures: challenge of pre-trial detention or house arrest on grounds of disproportionality, flight risk or humanitarian conditions.
Attendance at detention validation hearings: mandatory presence at criminal instruction courts for foreigners detained for illegal immigration.

Criminal Actions Against AIMA

Challenge of administrative decisions with criminal implications: judicial contestation of administrative expulsions that may constitute a crime.
Criminal liability of public entities: monitoring of proceedings for abuse of power, malfeasance or denial of justice in asylum or regularization procedures.
Civil compensation claims annexed to criminal proceedings: claims for damages arising from unlawful detention or rights violations in AIMA-managed centres.

Review of Convictions and Execution of Sentences

Extraordinary appeals: applications for review of convictions due to manifest error, new evidence or breach of international norms.
Adaptation of sentences for foreigners: request for expulsion as an alternative to effective imprisonment, with follow-up before the Sentence Execution Court.
International cooperation: assessment of the legality of European Arrest Warrants (EAW) and extradition requests, with intervention before appeal courts and the Constitutional Court.

Intervention in Criminal Violations and Asylum Matters

Defence against crimes impacting human rights: representation in proceedings for ill-treatment of detainees or denial of asylum constituting malfeasance, invoking the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees (ratified by Portugal) to argue non-refoulement in cases of persecution risk.
Challenge of criminal administrative decisions: contestation of measures violating constitutional rights, including appeals to the Constitutional Court for declaration of unconstitutionality in disproportionate sentences or detentions.
Support to victims of violations: assistance as civil party in criminal actions for crimes against humanity or discrimination, invoking the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), incorporated into Portuguese law via the Constitution.

International Conventions for Prisoners and Extraditions

Treatment of prisoners: application of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Intervention to guarantee detainees’ rights (family visits, healthcare, prohibition of prolonged solitary confinement and excessive pre-trial detention).
Extradition proceedings: acting in accordance with the Law on International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters, together with the European Convention on Extradition and its protocols.
Opposition to extradition requests via European Arrest Warrant when in conflict with constitutional rights or conventions, prioritizing examination of double criminality.

Administrative Offence Law

Our services cover proceedings before regulatory authorities for individuals and entities, at administrative and judicial stages, across all regulated domains including road traffic, environmental and tax offences. Our expertise includes:

Challenge of fines and penalties in employment, environmental and tax matters.
Challenge of administrative offence notices and filing of appeals.
Negotiation with competent authorities and promotion of strategic settlements.
Advisory on specific regulatory sanctions.
Judicial challenges, hearings and appeals against offences issued by entities such as ASAE, IMT, GNR, PSP, ANSR, IGAMAOT
and regional regulators in the Azores and Madeira.
Participation in alternative mechanisms such as arbitration and mediation.
Support in civil compensation actions derived from criminal offences.
Guidance on money laundering and anti-corruption issues.
Crisis management and liaison with official entities.
Drafting of written defences, applications and witness examinations.
Design, implementation and monitoring of compliance programmes to equip clients with tools for regulatory compliance, reducing exposure to liability.