Part IV
Enforcement of criminal judgements
CHAPTER I
Enforcement of foreign criminal judgements
Article 95
Principle
1. Final and enforceable foreign criminal judgements may be enforced in Portugal under the conditions laid down in this law.
2. The request for delegation must be made by the sentencing State.
Article 96
Specific requirements
1. Any request for the enforcement in Portugal of a foreign criminal judgement shall be admissible only subject to the general requirements provided for in this law, as well as the following requirements:
a) a sentence imposing a criminal reaction must have been rendered for an offence in respect of which the foreign State has jurisdiction;
b) if the sentence was pronounced during a trial in the absence of the sentenced person, the later must have been given the legal possibility of requesting a new trial or introducing an appeal;
c) the enforcement of the sentence must not run counter to the fundamental principles of the Portuguese legal system;
d) the facts involved must not be the subject of criminal proceedings in Portugal;
e) the facts involved must amount to a criminal offence under Portuguese law;
f) the sentenced person must be a Portuguese national, or otherwise must have his habitual residence in Portugal;
g) the enforcement of the sentence in Portugal must be justified in terms of a better chance of, either the rehabilitation of the sentenced person, or compensation for damages caused by the offence;
h) the sentencing State must have provided guarantees that, once the sentence has been enforced in Portugal, it shall consider the criminal liability of the person concerned to be extinguished;
i) the term to be served under the sentence must not be less than one year or, in case of a pecuniary sanction, it should correspond at least to the equivalent of 30 units of account in criminal procedure;
j) where the sentence involves deprivation of liberty, the sentenced person must give his consent.
2. Without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, a foreign judgement may also be enforced in Portugal if the person concerned is already serving in Portugal a sentence for any offence other than the offence for which the foreign judgement was passed.
3. The enforcement in Portugal of a foreign sentence involving deprivation of liberty shall also be admissible, even where the requirements provided for in paragraph 1, sub-paragraphs g) and j) above are not met, if, in case of escape to Portugal or other situation in which the person is present in Portugal, the extradition of the person concerned, for the offence for which he was sentenced, has been refused.
4. The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall also apply, subject to an agreement between Portugal and the foreign State concerned, once the person concerned has been heard, to the cases in which expulsion will be imposed once the sentence has been served.
5. The requirement provided for in paragraph 1, sub-paragraph i), may be dispensed with in special cases, notably where the health of the sentenced person, or reasons pertaining to his family or his profession, so dictate.
6. The enforcement of the sentence may however take place, notwithstanding the requirements provided for in paragraph 1, when Portugal, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 32, will have previously extradited a Portuguese national.
Article 97
Execution of decisions taken by administrative authorities
1. Final decisions taken in proceedings for offences as mentioned in paragraph 3 of Article 1 may also be enforced, where the person concerned was given the possibility of appealing to a judicial authority.
2. The communication of requests shall be made according to the provisions of treaties, conventions or agreements to which Portugal is a party or, otherwise, through the Central Authority in accordance with the provisions of this law.
Article 98
Limits to the enforcement
1. The enforcement of a foreign judgement shall be limited to:
a) the enforcement of a sentence involving deprivation of liberty and, subject to property belonging to the sentenced person having been found in Portugal, the enforcement of a sentence involving the payment of a sum of money;
b) the confiscation of proceeds, objects or instrumentalities of the offence;
c) the enforcement of any decision concerning civil law compensation should the claimant request it.
2. Any order to the effect of exacting the legal costs shall be limited to the costs due to the requesting State.
3. The enforcement of a sentence involving the payment of a sum of money implies the conversion of the amount thereof into escudos at the rate of exchange ruling at the day when the decision reviewing and confirming the sentence was taken.
4. Ancillary sanctions and disqualifications shall be enforced only if enforcement can have practical effects in Portugal.
Article 99
Documents and procedure
1. The request must be submitted by the Central Authority to the Minister of Justice for examination.
2. The request must be accompanied by a certificate or an authenticated copy of the judgement to be enforced, the statement of consent of the person concerned where the provisions of sub-paragraph j) of paragraph 1 of Article 96 apply, as well as information concerning the length of provisional arrest or the length of the sentence already served.
3. If the judgement concerns more than one person or imposes several criminal reactions, the request shall be accompanied by a certificate or an authenticated copy of that part of the judgement in respect of which enforcement is sought.
4. Should the Minister of Justice deem the request admissible, the file must be forwarded via the Attorney-General to the public prosecutor attached to the competent ""Tribunal da Relação"l" in accordance with the provisions of Article 235 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, for the public prosecutor to promote the implementation of the procedure concerning review and confirmation of the judgement.
5. The public prosecutor shall request that the sentenced person, or his counsel, be heard and state their views on the request, unless consent has already been given by that person or unless the original request for the delegation of powers to enforce came from that person.
Article 100
Review and confirmation of foreign judgements
1. Foreign judgements shall be enforceable only after they are reviewed and confirmed, according to the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the provisions of sub-paragraphs a) and c) of paragraph 2 of Article 6 of this law.
2. When deciding on the review and confirmation of a foreign judgement, the court shall:
a) be bound by the findings as to the facts, insofar as they are deemed to be proved by the foreign judgement;
b) not convert a sanction involving deprivation of liberty into a pecuniary sanction;
c) in no circumstances aggravate the sanction imposed by the foreign court.
3. If the court deems that the facts are not clear, or are insufficient, or that there are facts that are missing, it shall request the necessary supplementary information; confirmation of the judgement shall be denied where the information mentioned in the preceding paragraph is not possible to obtain.
4. The co-operation procedures provided for in this Chapter shall be of an urgent nature and shall not be interrupted during periods of judicial recess.
5. Where the request concerns a person under arrest, a decision must be taken within six months of the date in which the request reached the court.
6. Where the request concerns the enforcement of a sentence involving deprivation of liberty, in the cases mentioned in paragraph 5 of Article 96, the delay provided for in the preceding paragraph shall be shortened to two months.
7. If an appeal is made, the delays mentioned in paragraphs 5 and 6 above shall be extended respectively by three months and one month.
Article 101
Applicable law; effects of enforcement
1. Foreign judgements shall be enforced in conformity with the Portuguese law.
2. Foreign judgements enforced in Portugal shall produce the same effects that the Portuguese law accords to judgements rendered by Portuguese courts.
3. Only the foreign State that requests the enforcement of a sentence shall have the right to decide on any application for review of that sentence.
4. Both the foreign State and Portugal may exercise the right of amnesty, pardon or commutation.
5. The court which is empowered to enforce the judgement shall end the enforcement:
a)as soon as it comes to its knowledge that the sentenced person was granted amnesty, pardon or commutation in such a way as to justify the end of the enforcement of the sentence and the ancillary sanctions;
b) where it comes to its knowledge that an application was lodged for review of the sentence or of any other decision, if that application might result in a decision that renders the sentence unenforceable;
c)if it concerns a pecuniary sanction and the sentenced person pays the amount of the sanction in the requesting State.
6. Partial pardon, commutation and the substitution of the sanction with an alternative sanction shall be taken into consideration.
7. The foreign State must inform the court of any of the facts mentioned in paragraphs 5 above that might result in the enforcement being discontinued.
8. As soon as enforcement begins in Portugal, the requesting State must relinquish its right to enforce the same judgement; the right of enforcement shall however revert to the latter State (a) where the sentenced person escapes and (b) where that State is informed that the sentence, if it involves the payment of a sum of money cannot be totally or partially enforced.
Article 102
Prison in which the sanction shall be enforced
1. When a decision to the effect of confirming the foreign sentence becomes final and enforceable, and if that decision involves deprivation of liberty, the public prosecutor shall take measures to ensure that the person is brought to the prison which is closest to the person's place of residence in Portugal, or to his latest place of residence in Portugal.
2. If it is not possible to identify that person's place of residence in Portugal, or his latest place of residence in Portugal, he shall be taken to one of the prisons situated in the judicial area of Lisbon.
Article 103
Court competent for the enforcement
1. The court of first instance of the judicial area where the sentenced person has his residence in Portugal, or where he had his latest residence in Portugal, shall be empowered to enforce the sentence, as reviewed and confirmed; should it not be possible to identify any such residence, the court of first instance of Lisbon shall be thus empowered.
2. The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply without prejudice to the specific powers of the "Tribunal de Execução de Penas" (court of supervision of the enforcement of sanctions).
3. For the purposes of the provisions of paragraph 1 above, the "Tribunal da Relação" shall forward the file to the court which is empowered to enforce the sentence.
Enforcement of sentences imposed
National procedures re enforcement of sentences imposed
Enforcement of sentence of imprisonment
EDIT.