You may request legal protection, a support that the Portuguese State provides people who do not have economic conditions to consult a lawyer and / or to pay the expenses of a judicial or extra-judicial process.
This support consists of making a legal consultation (counseling with a lawyer) to:
• Clarify or discuss a specific case in which their interests or their rights are involved;
• Help solve a problem without having to resort to the courts;
This support also includes the assignment of legal aid, whenever deemed necessary recourse to the courts:
- To appoint a lawyer, solicitor, enforcement officer or advocate;
- waive the payment of costs of the lawyer, solicitor, enforcement officer or advocate;
- waive the payment of expenses to the court proceedings;
- Provide payment in installments of the expenses above mentioned
- Portuguese citizens and the European Union;
- Foreigners and stateless persons with valid residence permit in an EU Member State;
- Foreigners without valid residence permit in an EU Member State - if the laws of their countries of origin give the same right to the Portuguese;
- People who are domiciled or habitually resident in a European Union Member State other than the Member State in which the process will take place (border disputes);
- Legal persons nonprofit - have only the right to legal aid.
Note: All persons wishing to benefit from these grants must demonstrate to not have economic capacity to support the expenses associated with the lawsuit or hiring a lawyer.
You can contact the Contact Centre of Social Security through the 808 266 266 (hotline) or via email address: www.seg-social.pt
Should fill out the forms available in http://www4.seg-social.pt/formularios?bundleId=614072 or ask them for free from the social security services.
Later must deliver the application in any customer service to the public Social Security, faxing, mail or e-mail for the Services of Social Security the area of residence or registered office of the nonprofit legal person.
In principle, and in normal conditions, you should receive a response within 30 days.
If anything is missing document, the Social Security office write him, asking him to submit the missing documents within 10 days, and warn the user that if not delivered / send this deadline, your application may be refused.
The counting of 30 days shall be suspended until presentation of the documents, restarting after delivery.
Communicate promptly any change of the economic situation.
By the end of this financial support, are determining the following reasons:
- If the economic situation (own or their household) change and can dispense legal protection;
- Where there is evidence that the legal protection granted to it by invalid reasons;
- If the documents that served as the basis for the award are false declared by decision of the Court, which can no longer be appealed;
- If, on appeal, his conviction is confirmed as a litigator in bad faith (ie if, for example, lied purposely delayed the process, attempted obstruction of justice);
- If, in a lawsuit to receive pension provisional food, it is assigned an amount to pay for this lawsuit;
- If you have been granted legal aid in the phased payment mode and you have not paid a benefit and then fails to pay for that service missing or the respective fine within the time limit given to it to do so;
- The death of the individual, unless the successors make proof of their legitimacy;
- The termination or dissolution of non-profit legal person;
- If it has been a year since it was granted legal protection and have not gone to any legal advice or initiated the action in court, for whatever reason your responsibility.
