Chapter 8: Portugal

CONCLUSIONS

• The process established is long which often renders the information useless and ineffective.
• The new restriction adopted in Law 8/1995 permits the denial of information regarding "internal live of firms." This imprecise and broad definition — considered unconstitutional — permits the denial of relevant environmental information;
• The Law does not apply to private bodies, even if pursuing public interests (public water maintenance; recycling of dangerous wastes, enterprises legally required to measure and record emission data, inter alia) This restriction, specially when considered in the context of general privatization of public services, prevents access to essential environmental information.

The Portuguese Constitution also establishes a fundamental right to public participation in administrative decisions.

This right is regulated for some environmental projects — i.e. those subjected to an EIS, major projects (worth over PTE 2 billion), urban plans, inter alia. Generally, these statutes only provide a participation right when the project is already defined and structured. Therefore the process is normally ineffective and functions as a form of social legitimization of the political decision, rather than ensuring real participation by the public.

NGOs and citizens have a constitutional right of access to justice on environmental matters. This right is specified by Law 85/1995 of August 31. Some NGOs have tried to use their right of access to justice to prevent or to repair environmental damages.