Law 29/2009, dated 29th June (Transposition of the Directive/2008 about mediation for the Portuguese internal law)
Law 29/2009, dated 29th June
Code of Civil Procedure
Article 249 – A
Pre-court mediation and suspension of terms
1 - The parties may, previously to the submission of any litigation in court, to appeal the systems of mediation for the resolution of these litigations.
2 - The utilisation of systems of pre-court mediation foreseen by ordinance of the member of the Government responsible for the area of Justice suspends the term of caducity and forfeiture from the date on which it is requested the intervention of a mediator.
3 - The terms of caducity and forfeiture retake from the moment where one of the parties refuses to submit or opposes to continue with the mediation process, as well as when the mediator determine the end of the mediation process.
4 - Lack of agreement and the refusal of submission to mediation referred to in the preceding paragraph are confirmed by the managing entities of the systems contained in the ordinance referred to in paragraph 2.
5 - The inclusion of the systems of mediation in the ordinance referred to in paragraph 2 depends on verification of the idoneousness of the system as well as of the respective managing entity.
Article 249 – B
Homologation of the agreement obtained in pre-court mediation
1 - If the mediation results in an agreement, the parties may require its homologation by a judge.
2 - The request is presented in any court competent in the matter, preferentially electronically, under the terms to define by the ordinance of the Member of the Government responsible for the area of Justice.
3 - The judicial homologation of agreement obtained in pre-court mediation aims to verify its conformity with the legislation in force.
4 - The request referred to in the preceding paragraph has urgent nature, and decided without the need for prior distribution.
5 - In the case of homologation refusal the agreement is returned to the parties being able these, in the term of 10 days, to submit a new agreement for homologation.
Article 249 - C
Confidentiality
Except with respect to the obtained agreement, the content of the mediation sessions is confidential, not being able to be evaluated as evidence in court except in of exceptional circumstances, namely when is in cause the protection of the physical or psychic integrity of any person.
Article 279 – A
Mediation and suspension of the instance
1 - The judge in any state of the procedure, and whenever he understands it is convenient, may determine the remittance of the process for mediation, suspending the instance, unless when of any of the parties expressly opposes such remittance.
2 - Notwithstanding the disposal in the preceding paragraph, the parties may, in conjunct, opt to resolve the litigation for mediation, to resolve by common consent in the suspension of the instance in the terms and for the maximum period foreseen in the paragraph 4 of previous article.
3-The suspension of the instance referred to in the preceding paragraph verifies, automatically and without necessity of judicial order, with the communication by any of the parties of the recourse to the systems of mediation.
4 - Verifying in the mediation the impossibility of agreement, the mediator gives knowledge to the court of this fact, preferentially electronically, ceasing automatically and without any act of the judge or of the office, the suspension of the instance.
5 - Reaching agreement in mediation, the agreement is sent to the court, preferentially electronically, following the defined terms in the law for the transaction.
