Key Benefits:
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PROPOSED LAW NO. 286 /X/4.
Exhibition of Motives
The structure and organization of the municipal bodies and services currently govern by the
Decree-Law No. 116/84, of April 6, a diploma with about 25 years, which today if
reveals manifestly unsettling of the reality of the local administration.
Effectively, the consolidation of the autonomy of democratic local power in the latter
decades, translated into the strong bet on decentralization of assignments, in various sectors,
for local authorities, presupposes an organisation of the municipal bodies and services
in moulds that allow them to give a better response to the solicitations arising from the
their new assignments and competences.
It is therefore necessary to revise the legislation regulating the functioning of the
municipal bodies and services to new organisational realities, which allow for exercise
of the respective functions according to a more operatively model.
The aim of the present legislative initiative is to provide local authorities with conditions that
enable them to fulfil their broad assignments, relating to the pursuit of
local interests by nature, or the pursuit of general interests which, however,
can be achieved more efficiently by the local administration by virtue of its
close relationship with the populations, in the framework of the constitutional principle of the
subsidiarity.
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The improvement of the conditions for the exercise of the mission, functions and assignments of the
local authorities, as well as the skills of their respective bodies and services, implies,
since soon, the decrease of the structures and decision-making levels-avoiding the dispersion of
functions and competencies by small organic units-and the recourse to flexible models
of operation in function of the objectives, personnel and technologies available. The
implementation of these two objectives will produce a local administration whose mode of
operation will be fundamentally based on simplification, rationalization and
reengineering of administrative procedures, conferring efficiency, effectiveness, quality and
agility to the performance of its functions and, in a logic of rationalization of services and
of the establishment of transversal work methodologies, the aggregation and sharing of
services that meet needs common to various organic units.
The prevailing legal framework in various fields of the performance of local bodies and services,
such as urban licensing, performance evaluation and staff status
leader, propicuous the dematerialisation of processes, the sharing of objectives, the
administrative simplification and the adoption of new forms of relationship with the municipes,
showing that all the conditions are met to overcome the traditional spraying
of functions, rigidly distributed by various organic units that do not communicate
each other and the lack of recognition of merit and good organizational performance.
In that sense, it is sought, through the present proposal of law and the future decree-law,
ensure greater rationality and operationality of municipal services,
ensuring that greater autonomy of decision always has as a counterpart
a more direct accountability of councillors.
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The self-governing bodies of the autonomous regions and the Association were consulted
National of Portuguese Municipalities.
It was promoted to the hearing of the National Association of Freguesies.
The procedures stemming from Law No. 23/98 of May 26 were observed.
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:
Article 1.
Subject
Permission is granted to the Government to revoke the Decree-Law No. 116/84 of April 6,
amended by Law No. 44/85 of September 13 by the Decree-Law No. 198/91 of 29 of
May, by Law No. 96/99, of July 17, and by Law No. 169/99 of September 18 and for
approving the new legal regime of the organisation of the services of local authorities.
Article 2.
Sense
This Law of Legislative Authorization is granted to allow the Government to revocation
of the Decree-Law No. 116/84 of April 6, in its current wording, with a view to the approval of
a new legal regime applicable to the organisation of the services of local authorities, in the
sense of gaining greater effectiveness and efficiency in the operation of them.
Article 3.
Extension
The extent of the legislative authorization granted is as follows:
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a) Define as principles of the organization, structure and operation of the services of the
municipal administration the principles of unity and effectiveness of the action, of the
approaching services to citizens, from de-bureaucratization, to the rationalization of
means and efficiency in the allocation of public resources, quantitative improvement and
qualitative of the service provided and the guarantee of participation of citizens;
b) Define that the internal structure of the municipal administration consists of the provision and
organization of the units and organic subunits of the respective services;
c) Define that the process of restructuring the services of the municipal administration
stems from the terms of the Decree-Law No. 200/2006 of October 25 and comprises
all the operations and decisions necessary to bring about the changes
introduced in their respective attributions, competences and internal organic structure;
d) Define that the restructuring process stems during the period of 60 working days,
by competing for the direction of the same to the mayor in the case of the
municipalities, and the freguesie joint, in the case of fregues;
e) Define that it is incumbent upon the municipal assembly, on a proposal from the city hall, to
approval of the model of organic structure, of the nuclear structure, defining the
corresponding nuclear organic units, of the maximum number of units
flexible organic, organic subunits, project teams and teams
multidisciplinary;
f) Define that it is incumbent upon the municipal chamber, on a proposal from the mayor
municipal, the creation of flexible organic units and the definition of the respective
assignments and competences, within the limits set by the municipal assembly, the
establishment of project teams and multidisciplinary teams and the definition of the
remunerative status of the respective leader;
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g) Define that it is incumbent upon the Chair of the municipal chamber to conformation the
internal structure of the organic units and the project teams and
multidisciplinary, by the assignment of the assignment or reallocation of the staff of the respective
map, and, still, the creation, alteration and extinction of organic subunits;
h) Define that it is incumbent upon the assembly of freguesia, on a proposal from the freguesia board,
approve the model of organic structure, define the maximum number of units
flexible organic and the maximum total number of organic subunits;
i) Define that it is incumbent on the freguish board, on a proposal from the chairman of the joint
freguesia, create flexible organic units and subunits and define the respective
assignments and competences, within the limits set by the assembly of freguesia;
j) Define that it is incumbent on the freguesia board to conformation of the internal structure of the
organic units, by allocating you the allocation or reallocation of the staff of the
respective map, and, still, the creation, alteration and extinction of organic subunits;
l) Define that the internal organisation of municipal services should be appropriate to the
assignments of the municipality, obeying a model of hierarchized structure or
of matrix structure;
m) Define that when it is exclusively adopted the hierarchized structure, and since
that is warranted, with a view to increasing flexibility and effectiveness in management,
may be set up, by reasoned deliberation of the city hall, under
proposal of the respective President, temporary project teams and with
specified objectives, directed by municipal project directors;
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n) Allow the hierarchized internal structure to consist of units
nuclear and flexible organic, owing to the nuclear structure of the services being
approved by the city hall, and may be made up of directions or
municipal departments, but corresponding always to a
fixed departmentalization, and being the flexible structure of the services composed of
flexible units, directed by a head of municipal division, created, amended and
extinguished by dispatching of the mayor of the city hall, which will define the
respective skills, as well as the allocation or reallocation of the staff of the
respective map, in accordance with the previously fixed ceiling;
o) Allow, when they are predominantly in cause of execution functions,
may be set up, by dispatch of the mayor of the city hall, subunits
organic within the framework of the organic units;
p) Determine that the reasoned deliberation of the municipal chamber for the creation of
project teams must compulsorily establish the designation of the project, the
terms and the duration of the mandate, with the clear definition of the objectives to be achieved, the
appointment of the project director, the number of elements that must integrate the
project team and the respective functions and the charges and respective cabling
budget;
q) Determine that it is incumbent on the municipal assembly, on a proposal from the chamber
municipal, the fixation of the remunerative status of the chefias, by equating to the
remunerative status of the directors of municipal department or of the heads of
municipal division, as well as the determination of the maximum number of teams
multidisciplinary, and that the constitution and the designation of the members of the teams
multidisciplinary and of the respective chefias, to be carried out compulsorily from among
actual services, it is carried out through deliberation of the city hall, under
proposal of the mayor;
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r) Fix that the services of the local municipal administration are, under the law,
object of annual internal evaluation, defined in own regulation, to which it shall
contribute to modifying and perfecting policies, programmes or projects, improve
the response of the services to the respective users, to perfect the decisions,
streamline the resources and evidencing responsibility, and must be submitted to
appreciation of the municipal chamber, together with the budget proposal, the plan
annual activities for the following year, the breakdown of which should reflect the
internal organisation of services;
s) To determine that the internal organisation of the services of the freguish joints shall be
appropriate to the assignments of the same and to the respective staff and may include the
existence of organic units, headed by an intermediate leader of a second
degree, provided that these have at least five employees, of which two
are superior technicians;
t) Define that the intermediate direction positions of the 2. second of the freguesias is
applied, with due adaptations, the status of the official staff of the chambers
municipal and municipalized services;
u) Determine that the municipal chambers and freguesia joints should promote the
review of its services until December 31, 2010.
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Article 4.
Deadline
The legislative authorization granted by this Law shall be for the duration of 90 days.
Seen and approved in Council of Ministers of May 7, 2009
The Prime Minister
The Minister of the Presidency
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs
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The structure and organization of the municipal bodies and services currently govern by the
Decree-Law No. 116/84, of April 6, a diploma with about 25 years, which today if
reveals manifestly unsettling of the reality of the Local Administration.
Effectively, the consolidation of the autonomy of democratic local power in the latter
decades, translated into the strong bet on decentralization of competences, in several
sectors, for local authorities, presupposes an organisation of the organs and services
municipal in moulds that allow them to give a better response to requests
arising out of your new assignments and competences.
It is therefore necessary to adapt the legislation regulating the functioning of the
municipal bodies and services to new organisational realities, which allow for exercise
of the respective functions according to a more operatively model. This aim is
incidentally in line with the reform of the Public Administration that has been undertaken by
this Government.
The modernization of the Public Administration is an essential piece of the strategy of the
Government of growth for the Country. They were done, from the past, all diagnoses,
pending, a mythical "major reform of Public Administration" has long been pending.
This Government has preferred the path of conducting a reformatory process made of steps
positive, firm and consequential, to achieve a more effective Public Administration,
that serves citizens and businesses well, at the time of what is expected of a state
modern. In this context, it is sought that the present decree-law will be articulated with the
set of diplomas relating to the reorganization of the Central Public Administration without,
however, to forget, the acknowledged specificities of the exercise of functions in the
local authorities.
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The purpose of this review is to provide local authorities with conditions to comply with
its broad assignments and relating to the pursuit of local interests by
nature, or general interests that can be pursued more efficiently by the
local administration by virtue of its relationship of proximity to populations, in the
framework of the constitutional principle of subsidiarity.
The improvement of the conditions of the exercise of the mission, functions and tasks of the authorities
places and skills of their organs and services that are radicalized in the decrease of structures
and decision-making levels, avoiding the dispersion of functions or competencies by small
organic units, and in the recourse to flexible models of operation depending on the
objectives, of available personnel and technologies, in simplification, rationalization and
reengineering of administrative procedures, conferring efficiency, effectiveness, quality and
agility to the performance of its functions and, in a logic of rationalization of services and
of the establishment of transversal work methodologies, the aggregation and sharing of
services that meet needs common to various organic units.
The legal framework in place in various fields, such as urban licensing, the
performance evaluation and the status of the governing staff, propicuous the dematerialisation of the
processes, the sharing of objectives, the administrative simplification and adoption of new
forms of relationship with the municipes, so conditions are gathered to overcome the
traditional spraying of functions, rigidly distributed by various units
organic that do not communicate with each other and the lack of recognition of merit and good
organizational performance.
In that sense, it sought, through this proposed law, to guarantee a greater
rationality and operationality of municipal utilities, ensuring that a greater
autonomy of decision always as a counterpart to more accountability
direct from councillors.
11
The governing bodies of the Autonomous Regions, the Association, were heard
National of Portuguese Municipalities and the National Association of Freguestics.
The procedures stemming from Law No. 23/98 of May 26 were observed.
Thus:
In the use of the legislative authorization granted by the Law No. .........................., and in the
terms of the point a) of Article 198 (1) of the Constitution, the Government decrees the
next:
Chapter I
General provisions
Article 1.
Subject
The present decree-law establishes the arrangements for the organization of the services of the authorities
locations.
Article 2.
Scope
The present decree-law applies to the services of the municipal administration of municipalities and
of the freguesias.
Article 3.
Principles
The organization, structure and operation of the services of the municipal administration
shall be guided by the principles of the unity and effectiveness of the action, of the approximation of the
services citizens, de-bureaucratization, rationalization of means and efficiency in the
allocation of public resources, the quantitative and qualitative improvement of the service provided and
of the guarantee of citizen participation, as well as by the remaining constitutional principles
of the administrative activity hosted by the Code of Administrative Procedure.
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Chapter II
Organization of the services of the municipal administration
Section I
Common provisions
Article 4.
Internal structure
1-A The internal structure of the municipal administration consists of the provision and organization
of the units and organic subunits of the respective services.
2-For the purposes of this decree-law, consider:
a) Organic units, the units led by leading personnel;
b) Organic subunits, the units led by personnel with functions of
coordination.
Article 5.
Process of restructuring services
1-The process of restructuring the services of the municipal administration comprises
all operations and decisions necessary for the realization of the changes
in the respective tasks, competences and internal organic structure.
2-The process of restructuring of the municipal administration services has by
object:
a) Nuclear organic units;
b) Flexible organic units;
c) Organic subunits.
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3-The restructuring process commencement after the entry into force of the act which
proceeds, whose approval is up to:
a) In the case of municipalities:
i) To the municipal assembly, on a proposal from the city hall, when in question
are nuclear organic units;
ii) To the mayor of the city hall when they are in cause units
flexible organic or organic subunits.
b) In the case of the municipalized services, to the municipal chamber, under proposal of the
respective board of directors;
c) In the case of the freguesias, to the freguesy assembly, on a proposal from the junta
freguesia.
4-The restructuring process stems during the time of 60 working days, competing for
direction of the same to the mayor, in the case of municipalities, and the
joint of freguesia, in the case of freguestics.
Article 6.
Procedure in case of restructuring
1-After the decision to initiate the restructuring procedure, the responsible body
by its course elabora:
a) List of activities and procedures that must be ensured for the
pursuit and the exercise of attributions and competences and for the realization of the
objectives, in line with existing budgetary availabilities;
b) List of jobs required to ensure the activities and
procedures referred to in the preceding paragraph, by unit and, or, subunit
organic, when justifying, identifying the career and the functional areas,
habilitational and geographical, where necessary, with the respective statement of reasons
and in line with existing budget availabilities;
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c) Comparative map between the number of existing herds in the service and the
number of jobs referred to in the preceding paragraph.
2-The lists and the map referred to in the preceding paragraph are submitted, for approval, to the
executive body.
3-Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 7, when the number of jobs is
lower than the number of existing staff in the service there is place for the placement of personnel
in the situation of special mobility or, being the case, to the application of the provisions
proper cessation of the legal public employment relationship.
4-For the purposes of the preceding paragraph, it shall be included in the existing herds in the service the staff
that there exercise functions in service commission regime, ceding of public interest
and internal mobility.
5-For the purposes of paragraph 3, it does not include in the existing herds in the service:
a) Personnel who perform duties in another body, service or entity in one of the scheme
referred to in the preceding paragraph;
b) The staff who find themselves in any license situation, which holds on to this
situation, applying to the respective regime.
6-In the course of the restructuring procedure it also stems from the period of
voluntary mobility of staff, during which the refusal of applications for mobility
general formulated by other services shall be duly substantiated.
7-The staff referred to in paragraph 4 who, at the end of the restructuring procedure, should not
continue to perform duties in the restructured service, may choose to return to your
source service.
8-The staff referred to in para. a) of paragraph 5 is notified of the beginning of the procedure of
restructuring, for, wanting, communicating to your home service, within 10
working days from the notification:
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a) Your return to the home service, applying for the scheme of the herds
existing in the service; or
b) The ticket on the map of the service where it exercises functions, existing agreement of that service,
with the nature of the bond suitable to the type of personnel map of the service in
cause.
9-In the absence of the communication provided for in the preceding paragraph, the personnel referred to therein are
immediately placed in special mobility situation.
10-For selection of staff to be placed in special mobility apply the
methods referred to in Articles 16 to 18 of Law No 53/2006 of December 7.
Section II
Municipal services
Article 7.
Competences of the municipal assembly
To the municipal assembly, on a proposal from the city hall, it competes:
a) Approve the model of organic structure;
b) Approve the nuclear structure, defining the corresponding organic units
nuclear;
c) Define the maximum number of flexible organic units;
d) Define the maximum total number of organic subunits;
e) Define the maximum number of project teams;
f) Define the maximum number of multidisciplinary teams.
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Article 8.
Competences of the city hall
To the city hall, on a proposal from the mayor of the city hall, it competes:
a) Create flexible organic units and definition of the respective assignments and
competences, within the limits set by the municipal assembly;
b) Create project teams;
c) Create multidisciplinary teams and definition of the remunerative status of the
respective leader.
Article 9.
Competences of the mayor of the city hall
To the chairman of the city hall compete the conformation of the internal structure of the
organic units and project and multidisciplinary teams, by allocating you the allocation
or reallocation of the staff of the respective map, and still the creation, alteration and extinction of
organic subunits.
Article 10.
Types of organization
1-A The internal organisation of municipal services shall be appropriate to the tasks of the
municipality, obeying the following models:
a) Hierarchized structure;
b) Matrix structure.
2-Where a mixed structural model is adopted should be distinguished from the areas of
activity by each model adopted, particularly with respect to the provisions of the
n. 1 of the previous article.
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3-When it is exclusively adopted the hierarchized structure, and provided that
justifies, with a view to increasing flexibility and effectiveness in management, can be
created, by reasoned deliberation of the municipal chamber, on a proposal from the
respective president, temporary project teams and with specified objectives,
directed by municipal project directors.
4-A Organic structure referred to in this Article shall be approved by the assembly
municipal, on a proposal from the House and published in Journal of the Republic .
Article 11.
Hierarchized structure
1-A The hierarchized internal structure consists of nuclear organic units and
flexible.
2-A The nuclear structure of the services is approved by the city hall, and may be
composed of directorates or municipal departments, but always corresponding
to a fixed departmentalization.
3-A The flexible structure of the services is composed of flexible units, directed by a
head of municipal division, created, altered and extinguished by dispatch of the president of the
municipal chamber, which will define the respective competences, as well as the allocation or
reallocation of the staff of the respective map, according to the ceiling
previously fixed.
4-When they are predominantly in cause implementing functions, they may be
created, by dispatching of the mayor of the city hall, organic subunits in the
scope of the organic units.
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5-Within the scope of the ceiling previously fixed by deliberation of the assembly
municipal, on proposal of the chamber, flexible organic units are created,
altered or extinguished by dispatch of the speaker of the chamber, which will define the respective
assignments and competences, as well as the allocation or reallocation of the staff of the
respective frame.
6--The dispatching referred to in the preceding paragraph is published in the Journal of the Republic , under penalty
of ineffectiveness.
Article 12.
Project teams
1-A reasoned deliberation of the municipal chamber for the creation of teams of
project must establish compulsorily:
a) The designation of the project;
b) The terms and duration of the mandate, with the clear definition of the objectives to be achieved;
c) The appointment of the project director;
d) The number of elements that should integrate the project team and the respective
functions;
e) The charges and their budgetary cabling.
2-A project team considers itself to be automatically extinguished once the deadline has elapsed
by which it has been constituted, without prejudice to the respective mandate being extended
by deliberation of the municipal chamber, under a reasoned proposal of the respective
president, to which he shall refer, in particular, to the degree of fulfilment of the objectives
initials.
3-Expainting the project team, the project director draws up a report of the activity
developed and of the results achieved, which is submitted to the chamber's appreciation
municipal.
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4-A The deliberation referred to in paragraph 1 is published in the Journal of the Republic , under penalty of
ineffectiveness.
Article 13.
Matrix structure
1-A The matrix structure is adopted whenever the operative areas of the services are able
develop essentially by projects, and they should group together by nuclei of
well-identified skills or product, aiming to ensure the constitution of
multidisciplinary teams based on functional mobility.
2-Compete to the municipal assembly, on a proposal from the city hall, the fixation of the
remunerative status of the chefias, by equating to the remunerative status of the
directors of municipal department or municipal division heads, as well as the
determination of the maximum number of multidisciplinary teams.
3-A The constitution and the designation of the members of the multidisciplinary teams and of the
respective cheats, to be carried out compulsorily from among actual services, is
carried out through deliberation of the municipal chamber, on a proposal from the President of the
chamber.
4-A The deliberation referred to in the preceding paragraph is published in the Journal of the Republic , under penalty
of ineffectiveness.
Article 14.
Evaluation
1-Municipal services are, under the law, the subject of annual internal evaluation,
defined in own regulation, which it shall contribute to:
a) Modifying and perfecting policies, programs or municipal projects;
b) Improve the response of services to their respective users;
c) Perfecting the decisions;
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d) Rationalize the resources;
e) Evidencing the responsibility.
2-To comply with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, shall be submitted to the
city hall, together with the budget proposal, the annual plan of
activities for the following year, the breakdown of which should reflect the internal organisation
of the services.
Section III
Services of freguesia joints
Article 15.
Competences of the freesthesia assembly
To the assembly of freguesia, on a proposal from the freguesia board, it competes:
a) Approve the model of organic structure;
b) Define the maximum number of flexible organic units;
c) Define the maximum total number of organic subunits.
Article 16.
Competences of the freguish joint
To the freguesia board, on a proposal from the president of the freguesy board, compete to create
units and flexible organic subunits and definition of the respective assignments and
competences, within the limits set by the assembly of freguesia.
Article 17.
Competences of the president of the freguish joint
To the president of the freguesia board competes the conformation of the internal structure of the
organic units, by allocating to you the allocation or reallocation of the staff of the respective map,
and still the creation, alteration and extinction of organic subunits.
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Article 18.
Organization
1-A The internal organisation of the services of the freesthesia joints shall be appropriate to the
assignments of the same and the respective staff.
2-A The internal organisation of the services may include the existence of organic units,
headed by an intermediate leader of 2. degree, provided that these have, in the
minimum, of five employees, of which two are superior technicians.
3-When they are predominantly at cause execution functions can be created
organic subunits, integrated or not in organic units, provided that
have at least four workers integrated in grade 2 careers.
complexity.
4-Organic units and organic subunits are created by deliberation of the
assembly of freguesia, under a reasoned proposal from the freguesia board.
5-The deliberations referred to in the preceding paragraphs are published in edital, to be affixed to us
style places of the freguesia, under penalty of ineffectiveness.
6-The intermediate direction positions of the 2º degree of the freguesias is applied, with due
adaptations, the status of the governing staff of the municipal chambers and services
municipalized.
Article 19.
Evaluation
The organic units of the freguesias are the subject of assessment, under the law, to which
should contribute to:
a) Modifying and perfecting policies, programmes or projects;
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b) Improve the response of services to their users;
c) Perfecting the decisions;
d) Rationalize the resources;
e) Evidencing the responsibility.
Chapter III
Final and transitional provisions
Article 20.
Review of internal structures
Municipal chambers and freesthesia joints should promote the review of their
services, in compliance with the provisions of this Law, until December 31, 2010.
Article 21.
Autonomous Regions
The provisions of this diploma shall apply directly and immediately to the services of the
Local authorities of the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira, without prejudice to the
possibility of introduction of adaptations by own diploma, when required by the
regional specificities.
Article 22.
Abrogation standard
The Decree-Law No. 116/84 of April 6, as amended by Law No. 44/85, is repealed, 13 of
September, by the Decree-Law No. 198/91 of May 29, by Law No. 96/99 of July 17 and
by Law No. 169/99 of September 18.
Seen and approved in Council of Ministers of
The Prime Minister
The Minister of State and Finance