Key Benefits:
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PROPOSED LAW NO. 52 /X
Exhibition of Motives
The foundations of the civil protection legal regime were established at the beginning of the years
ninety, through Law No. 113/91, of August 29. Such a diploma, still in force (with
the amendments introduced by Law No. 25/96 of July 31), synthesizes a set of
options that do not deviate much from the European and international consensus. Effectively, the
structuring principles of this area have achieved some stability, valuing the actions
of prediction, prevention, reaction and combat to crises and finally repose of the
normality.
The cyclical need for reweighting the normative bases of civil protection links
more to the system suitability imperative to the evolution of the structure of the organization
administrative that to the redefinition of the material priorities of acting. The reason for being
of the present diploma radica, for, in the need to make adjustments and
enhancements evidenced by the experiment, with direct reflections on accentuation
of the integrated, operative and functional character of the system.
Civil protection is a civic task, par excellence. Your responsibility must be
shared by all: from the State to the other public entities, from companies to citizens.
Any area of the territory may be affected by any type of risk, which
evidences the need for a civil protection system that values participation
active and informed of all, and ensure the existence, in each circumscription, of resources
humans and materials, operative and decision-making capacity, likely to intervene
immediately in the event of an accident or disaster, but also, where possible, to predict
and prevent. Despite the diffuse character of liability, the demands for effectiveness and
efficiency linked to the function make the role of the state incircumvable, while element
aggregator and coordinator.
The actions provided for in this proposed law shall be organized around two axes
complementary: on the one hand, the principle of subsidiarity, which points to a
timely determination of the nature and severity of the occurrence and consequent evaluation
of the sufficiency of the closest resources to cope with it; on the other hand, the
principio of coordination, in an organizational perspective, and the principle of the unity of
command, in an operational perspective. While the former stresses the imperative of
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a common guiding line between the various organic subsystems, to which only the
Government can match, already the second one evidences the need to ensure the
direction of crisis management operations, without prejudice to functional linkages
specific to each intervener.
In this context, the proposed law aims to provide the various normative instruments of the
civil protection of a common axiological referential, favoring interpretation and
Uniform application and ensuring the correct identification of objectives.
On the other hand, it is now intended to fill an evident gap from the current legal regime:
the non-existence of integrated framework of legal acts and material operations aimed at the
prevention of risks, combat and crisis management and reposition of the normality of the
conditions of life, hierarchized depending on the severity of the occurrence that if
intends to prevent or eliminate. It is, in the generality of cases, acts or
material operations already provided for in the legal planning, in a dispersed manner and
turned off. The present proposal of law integrates all such situations and organizes them,
second a priority criterion, around the declaration of the alert situations, of
contingency and calamity. In this way, the suitability of the system of
civil protection to the various geographical levels of responsibility and competence of the
administrative authorities. Where necessary, the stratification determined by the
scope of the tasks of the entities and the intervening bodies is corrected as a function of the
gravity of the occurrence and the nature of the means called to act.
Thus, the law of bases of civil protection, without prejudice to the normative developments
sectoral to which it will surely give azo, takes over from already the framework of the
key instruments at the disposal of the various civil protection officers for
prevent accidents or disasters, eliminate their effects and provide for the reposition
of the normality of living conditions.
Finally, the present proposal of law proceeds to a deep reformulation of the
organic structure on which the civil protection system is based. The vectors principles
of the new regime refers to the ideas of simplification and operationality. The
civil protection activities do not commiserate with bureaucratic structures
too rigid and heavy. In fact, the demands for immediate response to the
detection of potential or actual risks, hardly coaldled with organizations
complex, dependent on very varied decision centres, accustomed to
slow and sometimes dubious usefulness procedures. However, there are limits
to the wishes for administrative simplification, arising in particular from the
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need to ensure the maintenance of means close to the occurrences, such as
imposed by the principle of subsidiarity. The organizational structure proposed here
search, precisely, reach a point of balance between the claimed complexity
by the dispersion of territories and attributions, on the one hand, and the inherent operational character
to the function, on the other.
From the organizational summit drawn on this proposed law, the integration of standards
and procedures relating to the various civil protection operations, articulating all the
civil protection agents, is the subject of a development diploma.
This proposed law takes into consideration the contributions generated by the broad
debate that has been raised in public opinion, involving not only entities and institutions
directly connected to the activity of protection and relief, as individualities of the
civil society, national intelligence and the academic medium in particular, which
corresponded to the Government's initiative to launch this degree, with others relating to
contiguous subjects, in public discussion that has proceeded during the past month of
November.
Consultations to the High Authority for Communication should still be triggered
Social, in respect of the constant standard of Article 22 (3), and the Insurance Institute of
Portugal as to the norm of Article 61.
Thus:
Under the terms of the paragraph d) of Article 197 (1) of the Constitution, the Government presents to the
Assembly of the Republic the following proposal for a law:
CHAPTER I
Objectives and principles
Article 1.
Civil protection
1-A Civil protection is the activity developed by the State, Autonomous Regions and
Local Authorities, by citizens and by all public and private entities, with
the purpose of preventing collective risks inherent in accident situations or
disaster, to eliminate its effects, protect and soccur people and goods in
danger when those situations occur.
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2-A civil protection activity has a permanent, multidisciplinary character and
plurissectoral, cabling to all the organs and departments of the Administration
Public to promote the conditions indispensable to its execution, in a way
decentralized, without prejudice to the mutual support between bodies and entities of the
same level or coming from higher levels.
Article 2.
Territorial scope
1-A Civil protection is developed throughout the national territory.
2-In the autonomous regions the policies and actions of civil protection are from the
responsibility of regional governments.
3-In the framework of international commitments and applicable rules of law
international, civil protection activity may be carried out outside the territory
national, in cooperation with foreign states or international organizations of
that Portugal is a party.
Article 3.
Definitions of serious accident and disaster
1-Serious accident is an unused event with relatively limited effects on the
time and in space likely to reach people and other living beings, the goods or the
environment.
2-Disaster is the accident or the series of accidents, likely to cause high
material damage and, eventually, victims, intensely affecting the conditions
of life and the socio-economic fabric in areas or in the entirety of the national territory.
Article 4.
Objectives and fields of performance
1-Are fundamental objectives of civil protection:
a) Preventing collective risks and the occurrence of accident or disaster from them
resulting;
b) Mitigating collective risks and limiting their effects in the case of occurrences
described in the preceding paragraph;
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c) To soccur and watch people and other living beings in danger, protect goods and
cultural, environmental and high public interest values.
2-A civil protection activity is carried out in the following areas:
a) Surveying, forecasting, evaluation and prevention of collective risks;
b) Permanent analysis of vulnerabilities in the face of situations of risk;
c) Information and training of populations, aiming at their awareness of
self-protection and collaborative matters with the authorities;
d) Planning of emergency solutions, aiming at the search, rescue, the
provision of relief and assistance, as well as evacuation, accommodation and
supply of the populations;
e) Inventorisation of the resources and means available and of the most easily
mobilizable, at the local, regional and national level;
f) Study and dissemination of appropriate forms of protection of buildings in general,
of monuments and other cultural assets, of infrastructure, of heritage
archival, of essential services facilities as well as the environment and
of natural resources;
g) Prediction and planning of actions achievable in the eventuality of isolation of
areas affected by risks.
Article 5.
Principles
In addition to the general principles, enshrined in the Constitution and the law, constitute
special principles applicable to civil protection activities:
a) Principle of priority under the terms of which prevalence should be given to the
pursuit of the public interest pertaining to civil protection, without prejudice to the
national defence, internal security and public health, whenever they are
in question ponderings of interests, among themselves confrontational;
b) Principle of prevention, by virtue of which the risks of accident or disaster
should be considered in advance, so as to eliminate the own
causes, or reduce its consequences, when this is not possible;
c) Precautionary principle, according to which the measures should be adopted
of decreasing the risk of accident or disaster inherent in each activity,
associating the presumption of imputation of possible damage to the mere violation
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of that duty of care;
d) Principle of subsidiarity, which determines that the protection subsystem
tertier-level civil shall only intervene if and to the extent that the objectives of the
civil protection cannot be achieved by the civil protection subsystem
immediately lower, attentive to the size and the severity of the effects of the
occurrences;
e) Principle of cooperation, which relies on the recognition that protection
civil constitutes allocation of the State, Autonomous Regions and Municipalities
Places and duty of citizens and all public and private entities;
f) Principle of coordination, which expresses the need to ensure, under
direction of the Government, the articulation between the definition and the implementation of the
national, regional, district and municipal civil protection policies;
g) Principle of the unit of command, which determines that all agents act,
in the operational plan, articulately under a single command, without prejudice to the
respective hierarchical and functional dependence;
h) Principle of information, which translates the duty to ensure disclosure of the
relevant information in civil protection, with a view to pursuing
of the objectives set out in Article 4.
Article 6.
General and special duties
1-Citizens and too many private entities have a duty to collaborate in the pursuit
of the purposes of civil protection, observing the preventive provisions of laws and
regulations, acatting orders, instructions and advice from the organs and agents
responsible for internal security and civil protection and by meeting promptly
the solicitations justifiably to be made by the competent entities.
2-The officials and agents of the State and legal persons of public law, well
as the members of the management bodies of public companies, have a special duty
of collaboration with the civil protection bodies.
3-Those responsible for the administration, management or managerial of private companies whose
laboration, by the nature of its activity, be subject to any particular form
of licensing have, equally, the special duty of collaboration with the organs and
civil protection officers.
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4-A disobedience and the resistance to the legitimate orders of the competent entities,
when practiced in a warning situation, contingency or calamity, are
sanctioned under the criminal law, and the respective penalties are always aggravated in
one third, at their minimum and maximum limits.
5-A violation of the special duty provided for in paragraphs 2 and 3 implies, depending on the cases,
criminal and disciplinary liability, under the law.
Article 7.
Information and training of citizens
1-Citizens are entitled to information about the risks to which they are subject in certain
areas of the territory and on the measures adopted and to be adopted with a view to preventing or
minimize the effects of accident or disaster.
2-A public information aims to clarify the populations about the nature and purposes of the
civil protection, make them aware of the responsibilities that fall on each
institution or individual and raise awareness of self-protection.
3-Teaching programmes, in their various degrees, must nclude, in the area of training
civic, civil protection and self-protection matters, with the purpose of spreading
practical knowledge and rules of behaviour to be adopted in the case of accident or
disaster.
CHAPTER II
Alert, contingency, calamity
SECTION I
General provisions
Article 8.
Alert, contingency, calamity
1-Without prejudice to the permanent character of the civil protection activity, the organs
competent may, depending on the nature of the events to be prevented or the
address and the severity and extent of their current or potential effects:
a) Declare the alert situation;
b) Declare the contingency situation;
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c) Declare the situation of calamity.
2-The acts referred to in the preceding paragraph correspond to the recognition of the adoption
of appropriate measures and commensurate with the need to face increasing degrees of
danger, current or potential.
3-A statement of alert status, contingency situation and situation of
calamity may report to any parcel of the territory by adopting a scope
infra-municipal, municipal, supra-municipal or national.
4-The powers to declare the alert or contingency situation are found
circumscribed by the territorial scope of competence of the respective bodies.
5-The Minister of the Internal Administration may declare the situation of alert or the situation
of contingency for the entirety of the national territory or with the circumscribed scope
to a parcel of the national territory.
Article 9.
Assumptions of the alert situations, contingency, calamity
1-A The alert situation can be declared when, in the face of the occurrence or imminence of
occurrence of some or some of the events referred to in Article 3 is
recognized the need to adopt preventive measures and, or, special measures
of reaction.
2-A The contingency situation can be declared when, in the face of the occurrence or
imminence of occurrence of some or some of the events referred to in the article
3. is recognized the need to adopt preventive measures and or measures
non-mobilizable reaction specials in the municipal scope.
3-A The situation of calamity can be declared when, in the face of the occurrence or danger of
occurrence of some or some of the events referred to in Article 3, and to their
predictable intensity, is recognized the need to adopt measures of character
exceptional aimed at preventing, reacting or reacting to the normality of the conditions of
life in the areas hit by its effects.
Article 10.
Priority of means and resources
1-The means and resources used to prevent or face the risks of accident or
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disaster are those provided for in the emergency plans for civil protection or, in its
absence or insufficiency, those determined by the civil protection authority that
take the direction of operations.
2-The means and resources used shall suit the purpose, not exceeding the
strictly necessary.
3-preference is given to the use of public means and resources on the use of
means and private resources.
4-A The use of means and resources is determined second criteria of proximity and
of availability.
Article 11.
Obligation of collaboration
1-Declared one of the situations provided for in Article 8 (1), all citizens and
too many private entities are required, in the area covered, to provide to the
civil protection authorities for personal collaboration that is required to them,
respecting the orders and guidelines that are directed to them and corresponding to the
respective requests.
2-A The refusal to comply with the obligation set out in paragraph 1 corresponds to the crime of
sanctionable disobedience in accordance with Article 6 (4)
Article 12.
Production of effects
1-Without prejudice to the need for publication, acts that declare the situation of
wariness or the contingency situation, the dispatch referred to in Article 30, as well as the
resolution of the Council of Ministers that declares the situation of calamity, produce
immediate effects.
2-In the cases referred to in the preceding paragraph, the author of the declaration shall diligenate by the
wider diffusion of its content, taking into account the available means, owing,
as soon as possible, ensure its dissemination on the page in the Internet of the entity that the
delivered and, or, of the Government.
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SECTION II
Alert
Article 13.
Competence for statement of alert
1-It is up to the president of the city hall to declare the situation of alert of scope
municipal.
2-It is up to the Civil Governor to declare the situation of alert in the whole or in part of his
territorial scope of competence, preceded by the hearing, where possible, of the
presidents of the municipal chambers of the municipalities covered.
Article 14.
Act of statement of alert
The act that declares the alert situation expressly mentions:
a) The nature of the event that originated the stated situation;
b) The temporal and territorial scope;
c) The structure of coordination and control of the means and resources to be made available.
Article 15.
Material scope of the warning statement
1-In addition to the measures especially determined by the nature of the occurrence, the
statement of alert situation expressly disposes of:
a) The mandatory convocation, depending on the scope, of the committees
municipal, district or national civil protection;
b) The establishment of the appropriate procedures for technical coordination and
operational of the services and civil protection officers as well as the resources to
use;
c) The establishment of the guidelines on coordination procedures
of the intervention of the forces and security services;
d) The adoption of preventive measures appropriate to the occurrence.
2-A The statement of the alert situation determines a special obligation of collaboration
of the media, in particular of the radios and televisions, with the
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coordination structure referred to in the c) of the previous article, targeting the
disclosure of the relevant information regarding the situation.
SECTION III
Contingency
Article 16.
Competence for contingency declaration
The declaration of the contingency situation rests with the Civil Governor in its scope
territorial of competence, preceded by the hearing, where possible, of the Presidents
of the municipal chambers of the municipalities covered.
Article 17.
Act of contingency declaration
The act which declares the contingency situation expressly mentions:
a) The nature of the event that originated the stated situation;
b) The temporal and territorial scope;
c) The structure of coordination and control of the means and resources to be made available;
d) The procedures for inventing the damage and damage caused;
e) The criteria for granting material and financial supports.
Article 18.
Material scope of the contingency statement
1-A The declaration of the contingency situation covers the measures stated in the article
15.
2-In addition to the measures especially determined by the nature of the occurrence, the
declaration of contingency situation expressly disposes of:
a) The mandatory convening of the district or national commission of
civil protection;
b) The actuation of the emergency plans concerning the areas covered;
c) The establishment of specific directives relating to operational activity
of civil protection officers;
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d) The establishment of the framework criteria for external intervention and the
operational coordination of security forces and services and the Forces
Armed, in the terms of the applicable normative provisions, raising the
respective degree of preparedness, in accordance with the provisions of the plan of
emergency applicable;
e) The requisition and placement under the coordination of the structure indicated in the c)
of Article 17 of all systems for surveillance and risk detection, well
as from the organisms and institutions, whatever their nature, whose
knowledge may be relevant to the prediction, detection, warning and evaluation
of risks and emergency planning.
SECTION IV
Calamity
Article 19.
Competence for the declaration of calamity
The declaration of the calamity situation is the competence of the Government and is the form
of resolution of the Council of Ministers.
Article 20.
Early recognition
The resolution of the Council of Ministers referred to in the preceding article may be preceded by
joint dispatch of the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Internal Administration
recognizing the need to declare the situation of calamity, with the effects
provided for in Article 30.
Article 21.
Act of declaration of calamity
The resolution of the Council of Ministers that declares the situation of calamity mentions
expressly:
a) The nature of the event that originated the stated situation;
b) The temporal and territorial scope;
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c) The structure of coordination and control of the means and resources to be made available;
d) The procedures for inventing the damage and damage caused;
e) The criteria for granting material and financial supports.
Article 22.
Material scope of the declaration of calamity
1-A The declaration of the calamity situation covers the measures indicated in the articles
15. and 18.
2-In addition to the measures especially determined by the nature of the occurrence, the
statement of calamity situation, taking into account the criteria of the authorities
competent in the grounds of the matter, it may have on:
a) The mandatory convening of the National Commission on Civil Protection;
b) The actuation of the national scope emergency plan;
c) The establishment of sanitary and safety fences;
d) The establishment of limits or conditions to the movement or permanence of
persons, other living beings or vehicles, in particular through the subjection to
collective controls to prevent the spread of epidemic outbreaks;
e) The rationalization of the use of public transport services,
communications, water supply and energy, as well as consumption of
goods of first need;
f) The determination of the civilian mobilization of persons, for periods of time
determined.
3-A The declaration of the calamity situation may, for the reasons of safety of the own
or of the operations, establish limitations as to the access and movement of persons
strange to operations, including social media organs.
Article 23.
Access to natural and energy resources
1-A The declaration of the calamity situation is sufficient condition to legitimize the free
access of the civil protection officers to private property, in the area covered, well
how the use of private natural or energy resources, to the extent of
strictly necessary for the realization of the actions aimed at repose of normalcy
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of the living conditions.
2-The legal acts or material operations adopted in execution of the declaration of
situation of calamity to react against the effects of accident or disaster,
presumed to be practiced in a state of need.
Article 24.
Temporary requisition of goods and services
1-A The declaration of the calamity situation implies the recognition of the need for
to temporarily requisition goods or services, particularly as to the verification of the
urgency and the public and national interest that substantiate the requisition.
2-A The requisition of goods or services is determined by dispatching Joint Ministers
of the Internal Administration and Finance, which sets its object, the beginning and the term
predictable use, the beneficiary operating entity and the entity responsible for the
payment of compensation for the possible damages resulting from the requisition.
3-Applying, with the necessary adaptations, the rules on compensation for the
temporary property requisition listed in the Expropriations Code.
Article 25.
Mobilization of civil protection and relief officers.
1-The officials, agents and other employees of the direct public administration and
indirect, including the autonomous, which cumulatively detain the quality of
civil and relief protection agent, are exempted from the public service when
are called by the respective body in order to face an object event
of a calamity statement of situation.
2-A dispensation referred to in the preceding paragraph, when the home service is agent of
civil protection is preceded by permission of the respective governing body.
3-The relevant procedural rules for the application of the provisions of the preceding paragraph
are set out in the resolution of the Council of Ministers carrying out the declaration of the
situation of calamity.
4-A resolution of the Council of Ministers carrying out the declaration of the situation of
calamity establishes the conditions of dispensation of work and mobilization of the
workers in the private sector who cumulatively perform related functions
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or of cooperation with the civil protection or relief services.
Article 26.
Use of soil
1-A resolution of the Council of Ministers carrying out the declaration of the situation of
calamity, may determine the suspension of municipal planning plans
territory and, or, special planning plans of the territory, in bounded parts
of the area covered by the declaration.
2-The areas covered by the declaration of calamity are considered to be the subject areas
of special protective measures, taking into account the nature of the event that the
determined, being conditioned, restricted, or interspoken, in the terms of the number
next, the actions and uses likely to increase the risk of repetition of the
event.
3-In the cases provided for in the preceding paragraphs, the resolution of the Council of Ministers
carrying out the declaration of the calamity situation shall establish the measures
preventive necessary to the provisional regulation of the use of the soil, applying, with the
necessary adaptations, the provisions of Articles 7 to 13 of the Decree-Law No 794/76,
of November 5.
4-Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 1, the municipalities covered by the declaration of
calamity are heard as to the establishment of the measures provided for in the
previous figures, as soon as the circumstances permit.
5-A change of municipal land-use planning plans and, or, of the plans
territory planning specials, must be completed within two years
after the start of the suspension.
6-Territorial management tools should establish the behaviours
likely to be imposed on the users of the soil, taking into account the risks to the
public interest pertaining to civil protection, specifically in the areas of
construction of infrastructure, the realization of planning measures and the
subjecting to surveillance programmes.
7-In the procedures for the change of the territorial management instruments referred to in
previous figures, particularly in the monitoring and concert phases, the
mixed committee of coordination shall include a representative of the Ministry of
Internal Administration.
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Article 27.
Right of preference
1-It is granted the right of preference to municipalities in the transmissions to title
onerous, between private individuals, of the land or buildings located in the area bordered by the
statement of calamity.
2-The right of preference is granted for the period of two years.
3-Applied, with the necessary adaptations, to the exercise of the faculty provided for in the
number one, the legal regime set out in Articles 27 and 28 of the Decree-Law No
794/76, of November 5, and supplementary regulation,
4-Private individuals who wish to alienate real estate covered by the right of preference
of the municipalities shall communicate the intended transmission to the mayor
municipal.
Article 28.
Special scheme for contracting of public works, supplies
of goods and purchase of services
1-A contracting of public works, supply of goods and acquisition of
services that they have in view to prevent or accordion, as a matter of urgency, to
situations arising from the events that determined the statement of situation
of calamity shall be subject to the present special arrangements.
2-Mediant dispatch of the Ministers of the Internal Administration and Finance,
a list of the entities authorised to proceed, by the two-year term, is published.
direct adjustment of the contracts referred to in the previous number whose cost estimate
global by contract, not considering VAT, is lower than the thresholds set for
implementation of the Community Directives on public procurement.
3-The contracts concluded under this scheme shall be waived from the prior visa of the
Court of Auditors.
4-The awardees of contracts made under this exceptional scheme shall
be communicated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and to the Ministry of
Finance, in such a way as to ensure compliance with the principles of advertising and
transparency of contracting.
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Article 29.
Supports for the reposition of the normality of living conditions
The special legislation on social benefits, incentives for economic activity and
financing of the Local Authorities sets out the provisions applicable to the situation of
calamity, with a view to the reposition of the normality of living conditions in the areas
affected.
Article 30.
Dispatch of urgency
1-The joint dispatch of the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Internal Administration
provided for in Article 20, it may, as soon as, adopt the measures set out in the article
22, with the exception of those provided for in points e) and f) of your n. 2.
2-As long as provided for in the applicable emergency plan, the measures established in the
articles 23 and 24 may be adopted in the order referred to in the preceding paragraph.
3-The order referred to in paragraph 1 shall produce the effects provided for in Article 22 (1).
CHAPTER III
Framework, coordination, direction and implementation of the civil protection policy
SECTION I
Political direction
Article 31.
Assembly of the Republic
1-A The Assembly of the Republic contributes, by the exercise of its political competence,
legislative and financial, to frame the civil protection policy and to scrutinize the
your execution.
2-The parties represented in the Assembly of the Republic are heard and informed
with regularity by the Government on the progress of the main subjects of the
civil protection policy.
3-The Government shall periodically inform the Assembly of the Republic on the situation of the
Country in the case of civil protection, as well as on the activity of the organisms and
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services by it responsible.
Article 32.
Government
1-A The conduct of the civil protection policy is the competence of the Government, which, in the
respective Programme, it must enrol the main guidelines to be adapted or to propose
in that domain.
2-To the Council of Ministers compete:
a) Define the general lines of government policy of civil protection,
how to carry it out;
b) Scheduling and ensuring the means for the implementation of the protection policy
civil;
c) Declare the situation of calamity;
d) Adopt, in the case provided for in the preceding paragraph, the measures of character
exceptional aimed at the repose of the normality of living conditions in the areas
hit;
e) Deliberating the extraordinary allocation of the indispensable financial means
to the implementation of the measures provided for in the preceding paragraph;
3-The Government must listen to the bodies of government of the Regions in advance.
Autonomous on the taking of measures of their competence, in the terms of the numbers
previous, specifically to them applicable.
Article 33.
Prime Minister
1-The Prime Minister is responsible for the direction of the policy of civil protection,
by competing with you, specifically:
a) To coordinate and guide the action of the members of the Government in the subjects
related to civil protection;
b) Ensure compliance with the powers provided for in Article 32.
2-The Prime Minister may delegate the skills referred to in the preceding paragraph in the
Minister of the Internal Administration.
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Article 34.
Civil Governor
1-Compete to the civil governor, in the exercise of district in charge of the district of the
civil protection policy, triggering, on the imminence or occurrence of accident or
disaster, civil protection actions for prevention, relief, assistance and
proper rehabilitation in each case.
2-The civilian governor is supported by the District Centre for Relief Operations and the
remaining civil protection officers of district scope.
Article 35.
President of the City Hall
1-Compete to the chairman of the city hall, in the exercise of responsible duties
municipal of the civil protection policy, triggering, on the verge or occurrence of
accident or disaster, the civil protection actions of prevention, relief, assistance
and appropriate rehabilitation in each case.
2-The mayor of the city hall is supported by the Municipal Operations Centre of
Help and for the remaining civil protection officers of municipal scope.
SECTION II
Commissions and Civil Protection Units
Article 36.
National Committee on Civil Protection
1-A The National Civil Protection Commission is the coordinating body in respect of
civil protection.
2-Compete to the Commission:
a) Ensure the realization of the general lines of government policy of
civil protection in all services of the administration;
b) To appreciate the general bases of the organisation and functioning of the organisms and
services that, directly or indirectly, perform protective functions
civil;
c) Appreciate the agreements or conventions on international cooperation in matter
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of civil protection;
d) To appreciate the Emergency Plans of national, district or municipal scope;
e) Give opinion on the Emergency Plans drawn up by the governments of the
autonomous regions;
f) Adopt mechanisms for institutional collaboration between all organisms and
services with responsibilities in the field of civil protection, as well as
forms of technical and operational coordination of the activity by those
developed, in the specific scope of the respective statutory tasks;
g) Proceed to the recognition of the criteria and technical standards on the
organization of the inventory of resources and means, public and private,
mobilizable at the local, district, regional or national level, in the event of an accident
grave or catastrophe;
h) Define the criteria and technical standards on the elaboration of plans of
emergency;
i) Define the priorities and objectives to be established with a view to the scaling up of
efforts of the bodies and structures with responsibilities in the field of
civil protection, regarding your preparation and participation in tasks
common civil protection;
j) Approve and follow up on public initiatives aimed at the dissemination of the
purposes of civil protection and the awareness of citizens for the
self-protection and for the collaboration to be provided to the bodies and agents that
exert that activity;
l) To appreciate and approve the forms of external cooperation that the bodies and
structures of the civil protection system develop in the fields of their
assignments and specific competences.
3-Compete still to the Commission:
a) Trigger the actions provided for in the Emergency Plans and ensure the
conduct of their civil protection operations arising out of;
b) Enabling the rapid and efficient mobilization of organizations and personnel
indispensable and the means available that allow for coordinated conduct
of the actions to be implemented;
c) Request the government to formulate requests for aid to other countries and to the
international organizations, through the competent bodies;
d) Determine the realization of exercises, simulacros or operational drills that
21
contribute to the effectiveness of all the services involved in actions of
civil protection;
e) Disseminate the official communiqués that show themselves appropriate to the situations
provided for in this Law.
4-A The Commission assists the Prime Minister and the Government in the exercise of their
competences in civil protection, particularly in the case provided for in the
point ( c) of Article 32 (2)
Article 37.
Composition of the National Commission on Civil Protection
1-A National Commission on Civil Protection is chaired by the Minister of Administration
Internal and hers are part of:
a) Delegates from the ministers responsible for the defence, justice sectors,
environment, economy, agriculture and forestry, public works, transport,
communications, social security, health and scientific research;
b) The President of the National Civil Protection Authority;
c) Representatives of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities and of the
National Association of Freguestics;
d) Representatives from the League of Portuguese Firefighters and the National Association
of the Professional Firefighters.
2-Participate still in the Commission, representatives of the State-Biggest-General of the Forces
Armed, from the Republican National Guard, the Public Security Police, the
Judicial Police, of the National Council of Emergency Civil Planning, of the
Office Safety Coordinator, of the Maritime Authority, of the Authority
Aeronautics and the National Institute of Medical Emergency.
3-Regional governments may participate in the meetings of the Commission.
4-The President, when he considers it convenient, may invite to participate in the
meetings of the Commission other entities which, by their technical capacities,
scientific or other, may be relevant to the making of decisions within the
civil protection policies.
5-The secretariat and too much support for the meetings of the Council are ensured by the
National Civil Protection Authority.
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Article 38.
Civil Protection Distrital Commissions
1-In each district there is a District Commission for Civil Protection.
2-Compete to the District Commission for Civil Protection:
a) Actuate the elaboration, follow up the implementation and remit for approval by the
National Commission, the district emergency plans;
b) Follow up with policies directly connected to the civil protection system that
are developed by public servants;
c) Determine the actuation of Plans when this is justified;
d) Promote the realization of exercises, simulacros or operational drills that
contribute to the effectiveness of all the services involved in actions of
civil protection.
Article 39.
Composition of Discretal Committees
1-Integrate the respective district commission:
a) The Civil Governor, as the district officer in the civil protection policy, who
preside;
b) The District Operational Commander;
c) The maximum entities, or their qualified representatives, of the services
de-concentrates of the ministries identified in the a) of the Article 1 (1)
39.
d) The maximum responsible for the existing security forces and services in the
district;
e) A representative of the National Institute of Medical Emergency;
f) Three representatives of the municipalities of the district, designated by the ANMP;
g) A representative of the Portuguese Firefighters ' League.
2-A District Commission for Civil Protection is convened by the Civil Governor of the
district or, in his absence or hindrance, by whom he is by him assigned.
Article 40.
Municipal Civil Protection Committees
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1-In each municipality there is a civil protection commission.
2-The competences of the municipal commissions are those provided for by the committees
distrials suitable to the reality and size of the municipality.
Article 41.
Composition of the Municipal Commissions
They integrate the Municipal Commission of Civil Protection:
a) The Mayor of the City Hall, as the municipal officer of the policy
civil protection, which presides;
b) The Municipal Operational Commander;
c) An element of the Command of each existing Firefighters Corps in the
municipality;
d) An element of each of the security forces present in the municipality;
e) The health authority of the municipality;
f) The maximum leader of the local health unit, or the director of the centre of
health, and the director of the hospital of the municipality's influence-area designated
by the Director-General of Health;
g) A representative of the National Institute of Medical Emergency;
h) A representative of the services of social security and solidarity;
i) Representatives of other entities and services, implanted in the municipality, whose
activities and functional areas can, in accordance with the existing risks and the
characteristics of the region, contribute to civil protection actions.
Article 42.
Permanent Subcommittees
The National, District or Municipal Commissions may determine the constitution of
permanent subcommittees, which have as their object the continuous monitoring of the
situation and civil protection actions, specifically in the areas of security against
floods, fires of different natures, nuclear accidents, biological or
chemists.
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Article 43.
Local Units
1-Municipal Civil Protection Committees may determine the existence of
local units of civil protection, the respective constitution and tasks.
2-Local units must correspond to the territory of the freguesies and will
mandatorily chaired by the President of the Junta de Freguesia.
CHAPTER IV
Structure of civil protection
Article 44.
National Civil Protection Authority
Own degree establishes the National Civil Protection Authority by defining its
assignments and their organic.
Article 45.
Structure of civil protection
The civil protection structure organizes at the national, regional and municipal level.
Article 46.
Civil protection officers
1-Are civil protection officers, in accordance with their own assignments:
a) The bodies of firefighters;
b) The security forces;
c) The Armed Forces;
d) The maritime and aeronautical authorities;
e) INEM and too much health services;
f) The forest sappers.
2-A Portuguese Red Cross exercises, in cooperation with the remaining agents and of
harmony with its own status, functions of civil protection in the fields of
intervention, support, relief and health and social assistance.
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3-Impending special duty of cooperation with civil protection officers
mentioned in the previous number about the following entities:
a) Humanitarian associations of volunteer firefighters;
b) Security services;
c) National Institute of Legal Medicine;
d) Social security institutions;
e) Institutions with the purpose of relief and solidarity;
f) Organisms responsible for forests, nature conservation, industry and
energy, transport, communications, water resources and the environment;
g) Private and private security and relief services of public and private companies,
of ports and airports.
4-The agents and the institutions referred to in this Article, and without prejudice to their
steering, command and managerial structures, they articulate operationally in the terms
of the Integrated Protection and Relief Operations System (SIOPS).
Article 47.
Technical and scientific research institutions
1-The services and institutions of technical and scientific research, public or private,
with specific skills in domains with an interest in the pursuit of the
purposes set out in Article 4 of this Law, cooperate with the organs of
steering, planning and coordination that integrate the national protection system
civil.
2-A The cooperation develops in the following areas:
a) Surveying, forecasting, evaluation and prevention of collective risks of origin
natural, human or technological and analyses of the vulnerabilities of populations
and of the environmental systems to them exposed;
b) Study of appropriate forms of protection of buildings in general, of the
monuments and other cultural assets, of installations and infrastructure of
services and essential goods;
c) Research in the field of new equipment and technologies suitable for
search, rescue and provision of relief and assistance;
d) Study of appropriate forms of protection of natural resources.
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CHAPTER V
Civil protection operations
Article 48.
Integrated Protection and Relief Operations System
1-The Integrated System of Protection and Relief Operations (SIOPS) ensures the
unified command of the relief operations, articulating all the agents of
civil protection, according to an integrated system of standards and procedures.
2-The Integrated System of Protection and Relief Operations is regulated in diploma
own.
Article 49.
Relief Operations Centres
1-In situation of accident or disaster and in the case of danger of occurrence of these
phenomena, are triggered civil protection operations, of harmony with the
programs and emergency plans previously drawn up, with a view to enabling the
steering unit of the actions to be developed, technical and operational coordination
of the means to be committed and the appropriateness of the measures of exceptional character to be adopted.
2-Depending on the nature of the phenomenon and the severity and extent of its effects
predictable, are called to intervene centres of level relief operations
national, regional, district or municipal, specially designed to ensure the
control of the situation with recourse to integrated and eventual communications plants
overlap with alternative means.
3-The subjects relating to assignments, skills, composition and mode of
operation of the relief operations centres as well as the structure of
operational command of national, regional, district, or municipal scope, are
defined in the diploma referred to in paragraph 2 of the preceding Article.
Article 50.
Emergency plans
1-Emergency plans are drawn up in accordance with the directives emanating from the
National Committee on Civil Protection and establish, inter alia:
27
a) The typification of risks;
b) The identification of mobilizable means and resources, in an accident situation or
disaster;
c) The definition of the responsibilities incumbent on bodies, services and
structures, public or private, with competences in the field of protection
civil;
d) The criteria for mobilization and mechanisms for coordination of means and
resources, public or private, usable;
e) The operational structure that there is-to guarantee the steering unit and control
permanent of the situation.
2-Emergency plans, depending on the territorial extent of the situation vised, are
national, regional, district or municipal and, depending on their purpose, they are general
or specials.
3-Emergency plans are subject to periodic updating and must be the subject
of frequent exercises with a view to testing their operationality.
4-The emergency plans of national and regional scope, are approved,
respectively, by the Council of Ministers and the governing bodies of the
Regions.
5-Emergency plans for district and municipal scope are approved by the
National Committee on Civil Protection.
6-Emergency plans of national, district and municipal scope are drawn up,
respectively, by the National Civil Protection Authority, by the Governor
Civil and by the City Hall.
7-Civil protection officers collaborate in the elaboration and implementation of the plans of
emergency.
Article 51.
External aid
1-Unless treated or international convention to the contrary, the application and the granting of
external aid are the competence of the Government.
2-The products and equipment that constitute the external aid, requested or
granted, are exempt from any rights or fees, by their importation or
export, and priority should be given to the respective customs land disembark.
28
3-Are reduced to the indispensable minimum the formalities of crossing the
borders by people committed to civil protection assignments.
4-A The National Civil Protection Authority should provide for the constitution of teams of
rapid modular response with increasing preparedness degrees for the purpose of
activation, for internal and external acting.
CHAPTER VI
Armed forces
Article 52.
Armed forces
The Armed Forces collaborate, within the framework of their specific missions, on functions of
civil protection.
Article 53.
Collaboration request
1-Compete to the National Civil Protection Authority, through the National Command
of Relief Operations, request the State-Maj. General of the Armed Forces to
participation of the Armed Forces in civil protection functions.
2-Compete to the District Operational Commanders, ears the Governors Civilians,
and to the Municipal Operational Commanders, heard the Presidents of Chambers
Municipal, the solicitation to the National Operational Commander of the participation of the
Armed forces in civil protection functions in their respective operational areas.
3-In case of manifest urgency the Governors Civilians and the Presidents of Chambers
Municipal people can apply for the collaboration of the Armed Forces directly to the
commanders of the units deployed in the respective area, fit to the
District Operational Commanders or Municipal Commanders inform the Commander
National Operational.
4-Consideration cases of manifest urgency, those in which gravity and dimension
of the accident or disaster and the need for immediate performance are not compatible
with normal forwarding of the order through the predicted chain of command
in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.
5-Compete to the National Operational Commander evaluate the type and dimension of aid to
29
request as well as the definition of priorities.
6-In the autonomous regions the collaboration must be requested by the government of the
region to Joint Operational Commanders, and knowledge must be given
to the Chief of the State-General of the Armed Forces and to the National Authority of
Civil Protection.
Article 54.
Forms of collaboration
The collaboration of the Armed Forces can rewear the following forms:
a) Actions for prevention and aftermath in fires;
b) Strengthening of civil personnel in the fields of salubrity and health in particular in the
hospitalization and evacuation of injured and sick;
c) Search and rescue actions;
d) Provision of equipment and logistical support for the operations;
e) Rehabilitation of infrastructure;
f) Enforcement of land, air and maritime recognitions and providing support
in communications.
Article 55.
Training and instruction
The Armed Forces promote the actions of training and instruction to the performance of the
its functions in the scope of civil protection, with the collaboration of the National Authority
of Civil Protection or other functionally relevant entities and services, in
Terms to be regulated by porterie of the Minister of National Defence.
Article 56.
Authorization to act
1-The Armed Forces are employed in civil protection functions, in the framework of
your specific missions, upon authorization of the Chief of the State-Major-General
of the Armed Forces.
2-In the event of manifest urgency, the authorization to act shall compete with the commanders
of the units deployed in the affected area for the requested effect.
30
3-In the autonomous regions, the authorization to act shall compete for the respective
joint operational commanders.
Article 57.
Chain of Command
Military forces and elements are employed under the chain of command of the Forces
Armed, without prejudice to the necessary articulation with the operational commands of the
structure of civil protection.
Article 58.
Forms of support
1-Programmed support is provided in accordance with the schedule in the programmes and plans of
emergency previously drawn up, after opinion favorable by the Armed Forces,
having, for so long, been integrated into the National Centre for Relief Operations and,
when necessary, at the lower level relief operations centres, an officer
of binding.
2-The unscheduled support is provided in accordance with the availability and priority of
employment of military means, by cabling to the State-General of the Armed Forces
the determination of the possibilities of support and the coordination of the actions to be developed
in response to the submitted requests.
CHAPTER VII
Final provisions
Article 59.
Civil protection in the state of exception or war
1-In a situation of war and in a state of site or state of emergency, the activities
of civil protection and the operation of the system established by this Law
subordinate themselves to the provisions of the National Defense Act and the Law on the Regime of the
State of Site and the State of Emergency.
2-In planning matters at the global, national and international level, the system
national civil protection board is articulated with the Civil Planning Council of
31
Emergency.
3-The Emergency Civil Planning Council and the National Authority of
Civil protection should simplify procedures and actions with a view to a better
integration of the civil protection system in the situations provided for in paragraph 1.
4-Compete to the National Civil Protection Authority to ensure representation in the
Committee on Civil Protection of NATO.
Article 60.
Autonomous Regions
1-In The Autonomous Regions, the civil protection services depend on the respective
organs of government of its own, without prejudice to the necessary articulation with the
competent national entities.
2-In The Autonomous Regions, the components of the civil protection system, the
liability on the respective policy and the structuring of the services of
constant civil protection of this diploma and the skills of it arising are
defined by diploma of the respective Regional Legislative Assemblies.
3-In The Autonomous Regions the plans for municipal-scope emergencies are
approved by the member of the Regional Government that guardiits the civil protection sector,
upon prior opinion of the Regional Office for Civil Protection, and given
knowledge to the National Commission on Civil Protection.
Article 61.
Insurance
They consider themselves to be null and void, not producing any effects, the clauses bets on
insurance contracts aiming to exclude the liability of insurers by the effect of
statement of the calamity situation.
Article 62.
Counter-ordering
Without prejudice to the sanctions already provided for, the Government defines the counter-ordinations
corresponding to the violation of the norms of this Law that imply duties and
necessary behaviors to the implementation of the civil protection policy.
32
Article 63.
Abrogation standard
1-A This Law shall prevail over all the general and special standards that are to be contradiced.
2-Are repealed the Act No. 113/91 of August 29, Law No. 25/96 of July 31, the
Decree-Law No. 477/88, of December 23, the Decree-Law No. 222/93 of 18 of
June, the Regulatory Decree No. 18/93 of June 28, the Regulatory Decree No.
20/93 of July 3.
Seen and approved in Council of Ministers of December 22, 2005
The Prime Minister
The Minister of the Presidency
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs