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LAW
Nr. 16/2001
of 22nd June
LAW ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Under
the terms of paragraph c) of the article 161 of the Constitution, the Assembly
of the Republic hereby decrees the following general law of the Republic as
valid:
CHAPTER I
PRINCIPLES
The
freedom of conscience, religion and worship is inviolable and guaranteed to
all, in accordance with the Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the applicable international law and the present law.
1. No
one can be privileged, beneficed, aggrieved, persecuted, deprived of any right
or exempt from any duty on account of his or her convictions or religious
practice.
Churches
and other religious communities are separate from the State and are free in
their manner of organization and in the practice of their activities and
worship.
The State will cooperate
with the churches and religious communities established in Portugal, taking
into consideration their representativeness, namely in view of the promotion of
human rights, of the integral development of each person and the values of
peace, freedom, solidarity and tolerance.
[1]
1. Freedom
of conscience, religion and worship only grants the necessary restrictions to
safeguard constitutionally protected rights or interests.
The
conflicts between freedom of conscience, religion and worship from one person
to another, or others, shall be settled with tolerance, in order to respect
each person’s liberty as much as possible.
Freedom of
conscience, religion and worship include the right to:
a) Hold,
not hold and to cease to hold a religion;
b) Freely
choose, change or abandon one’s own religious beliefs;
c) Practice
or not to practice the worship deeds, in private or in public, that belong to
the professed religion;
d) Profess
one’s own religious beliefs, to seek for new believers, express and freely
reveal one’s thoughts on religious matters through the usage of words, images
or by any other means;
e) Be
informed and inform others about religion, to learn and teach religion;
f)
Meet, manifest and associate oneself with others, in
accordance with one’s own convictions on religious matters, bearing no other
limits than those foreseen in the articles 45 and 46 of the Constitution;
g) Act
or not to act in compliance with the norms of the professed religion, regarding
the respect for human rights and the law;
h) Choose
names for one’s children that belong to the religious onomasticon of the
professed religion.
i)
Produce scientific, literary and artistic works on
the subject of religion.
1. No
one can:
a) Be
obliged to profess a religious creed, practice or attend acts of worship,
receive ministerial assistance or propaganda on religious matter;
b) Be
coerced into taking part, remaining or leaving a religious association, church
or religious community, without prejudice of the respective norms on
affiliation and the exclusion of members;
c) Be
questioned by any authority whatsoever about one’s convictions or religious
practice, except for the collection of statistical data, not individually
identifiable, nor be discriminated if one refuses to respond;
d) Be
obliged to take a religious oath.
2. Computing
cannot be used to process data referring personal convictions or religious
faith, except through one’s explicit consent or for the processing of
statistical data, not individually identifiable.
Article 10
In
agreement with the respective religious ministers and according to the chosen
church’s or religious community’s norms, freedom of religion and worship
include the right to:
a) Join
the chosen church or the religious community, participate in the internal life
and the religious rites practiced in communion and receive the ministerial
assistance that one requests;
b) Celebrate
marriage and be interred according to the rites of one’s own religion;
c) Publicly
commemorate the religious festivals of one’s own religion.
Article 12
1. Freedom
of conscience includes the right to object to the compliance of laws that
contradict the imperative doctrines of one’s own conscience, within the limits
of the rights and duties imposed by the Constitution and under the terms of the
law that will possibly rule the exercise of the conscientious objection.
1. Being
a member of the armed forces, security forces or the police, rendering military
or civil service, being interned in hospitals, asylums, colleges, health,
educational or welfare institutions or establishments, or similar, being in
detention in prison or other places of detention does not prevent the exercise
of religious freedom and, particularly, the right to ministerial assistance and
the practice of acts of worship.
1. The
employees and agents of the State and other public entities, as well as
contract workers, have the right to, on request, suspend work on the day of the
weekly rest, on the days of festivals and during hourly periods that are
prescribed for them by the denomination that they profess, under the following
conditions:
a)
They shall work according to a flexible schedule;
b)
They shall be members of a church or a registered
religious community, that has sent a list of the aforementioned days and hourly
periods for the current year, to the Minister of Justice during the previous
year;
c)
There shall be full compensation for the respective
work period.
1. The
ministers of religion are people who are considered as such according to the
norms of the respective church or religious community.
2. The
status of the minister of religion is certified by the competent bodies of the
respective church or religious community, which also accredit the respective
ministers for the practice of specific acts.
3. The
authentication of certificates and credentials mentioned in the above point
belongs to the registration office of religious corporate bodies.
1.
The ministers of religion have the freedom to carry
out their ministry.
2.
Magistrates or other authorities cannot ask the
Ministers of religion about the facts and matters that have come to their
knowledge by reason of their ministry.
3.
The exercise of the ministry is considered a
professional activity of the minister of religion when it provides him with a
means of support; as sufficient evidence of such, for the purposes of
authorization of residence to foreign ministers of religion, is the guarantee
heeded by the respective church or religious community.
4.
Ministers of religion of churches and other
registered religious communities have the right to usufruct of the service of
the general social security system under the terms of the law, their registry
being compulsory by the church or religious community to which they belong,
unless their religious activity is of a secondary nature and the exercise of
the principal, non-religious activity requires a compulsory registration in a
social security scheme.
5.
For the purposes of the two previous points, the
ministers of religion are equalized with the members of holy institutions and
other persons who professionally exercise religious activities and who, as
such, are certified by the church or by the religious community in which they
belong.
1.
The military obligations of students belonging to the
training establishment for ministers of religion, members of the holy
institutions, as well as ministers of religion of churches and other registered
religious communities, are fulfilled through ministerial assistance, health
services and social activities of the Armed Forces, unless they express a
desire to join the effective service.
2.
The attendance of training courses for ministers of
religion of a church or registered religious community is considered grounds
for release of the tests for classification and selection for military service,
as well as a postponement of incorporation.
3.
The right to conscientious objection to military
service in general terms is safeguarded.
Ministers
of religion, members of the holy institutions and other persons who
professionally carry out religious activities of churches or other registered
religious communities, can require an exemption from jury service.
Article 19
Religious marriage ceremony
1. A
religious marriage ceremony conducted by the minister of religion of a church
or registered religious community settled in the country is recognized for
civil purposes. The minister of religion must have a Portuguese nationality or,
if he is a foreigner, must hold an authorization of temporary or permanent
residence in Portugal.
a)
The contracting parties, or of one of them and the
proxy of the other;
b)
The minister of religion, duly accredited.
c)
Two witnesses.
Churches and religious
communities are organized and enduring social communities, in which believers
can fulfill all the religious purposes that are offered by the respective
denomination
1.
Irrespective of whether they are proposed as
religious by the denomination, for the purposes of the determination under the
legal system, the following shall be considered:
a) Religious
objectives are those that exercise acts of worship or rites, religious
assistance, training of ministers of religion, missionary work and
dissemination of the professed denomination and religious education;
b) Amongst
the objectives that dissimilar of the religious ones, there are those of relief
and acts of charity, education and culture, in addition to objectives for
commercial or lucrative gain.
2.
Activities with non-religious objectives of churches
and religious communities are subject to the legal system and, in particular,
the tax system for this type of activity.
1.
Churches and other religious communities are free to
organize themselves, having the right to autonomously arrange:
a) The
formation, composition, competence and functionality of their organs;
b) The
selection, duties and powers of their representatives, ministers, missionaries
and religious auxiliaries;
c) The
religious rights and duties of the believers, without prejudice to their
religious freedom;
d) The
adherence or participation in the establishment of federations or
inter-denominational associations, holding their head-offices in the Country or
abroad.
2.
Clauses to safeguard religious identity and the
specific character of the professed denomination are allowed.
3.
Churches and other registered religious communities
can autonomously establish or recognize either churches or religious
communities of local or regional scope, consecrated life institutes and other
institutes with the character of associations or foundations, for the exercise
or maintenance of their religious duties.
Churches
and other religious communities are free to carry out their religious
activities and to worship, namely being able to do so, without the interference
of the State or third parties, to:
a) Carry
out acts of worship, in private or public, without prejudice to the police and
traffic requirements.
b) Establish
places of worship or meetings for religious purposes;
c) Teach
according to the format and through the persons authorized by the doctrine of
the professed denomination;
d) Disseminate
the professed denomination and seek for new believers;
e) Religiously
assist its own members;
f)
Communicate and publish documents on religious
matters and on worship;
g) Connect
and communicate with organizations belonging to the same denomination or to
others in national territories or abroad;
h) Appoint
and train their ministers;
i)
Establish seminaries or any other training or
religious education establishment.
Religious education in public schools
1.
Churches and other religious communities or, on their
behalf, representative organizations of believers, residing on national
territories, can ask the Minister of Education to be allowed to minister
religious education in primary and secondary public schools indicated by them,
so long as they’re registered individually, or conjointly, professing to only
one denomination or agree on a common program for the purpose.
2.
Religious and moral education is
optional and not an alternative to any curricular area or subject.
3.
The functionality of these classes on religious
education of a certain denomination depends on whether there are a minimum
number of pupils who have either expressly and positively shown a desire to
attend these classes, in this case, they should be above the age of 16, or
their education commissioner has.
4.
The teachers in charge of the ministration of the
religious classes will not cumulatively teach the same students in other
curricular subjects or provide training, except in situations duly recognized
of a manifest difficulty when applying the principle, and thus, will be
appointed or hired, transferred and excluded of teaching the subject by the
State, in compliance with the representatives of the churches, communities or
the representative organizations. In no such case will a person who is not
considered suitable by the respective representatives minister the teaching.
5.
It is of the incumbency of the churches and other
religious communities to train teachers, draw-up programs and approve the
didactic material, in consonance with the general guidelines of the educational
system.
Article 25
Times of religious broadcasts
1. Television
and radio public services guarantee a period of broadcasting time for churches
and other registered religious communities, per se, through the respective
representative organization, or conjointly when they prefer to participate as a
single denomination, for them to pursue their religious objectives.
2. The
attribution and distribution of the broadcasting time mentioned in the previous
point, takes into account the representativeness of the respective
denominations and the principle of tolerance, by means of agreements between
the Religious Denomination Broadcast Time Committee and the incumbent companies
of the public television and radio services.
3. The
Religious Denomination Broadcast Time Committee is constituted by
representatives of the Catholic Church and of the Churches and other religious
communities settled in the Country or the federations in which they are
integrated, appointed for three years by joint dispatch of the members of the
Government responsible for the areas of Justice and the social communication,
after a hearing from the Committee of Religious Freedom.
Article 26
Religious slaughter
The
religious slaughter of animals must comply with the applicable legal provisions
concerning the protection of animals.
Article 27
Non-religious activities of
churches and other religious communities
Churches
and other religious communities may also carry out non-religious activities,
which are instrumental, consequential or complementary to their religious
activities, namely:
a)
To create special schools and cooperatives;
b)
To do charitable work for believers, or any other
persons;
c)
To promote their own cultural expressions or
education and culture in general;
d)
To use the appropriate means of social communication
in the pursuit of their activities;
Article 28
Right to be heard regarding town
planning
1. Churches
and other registered religious communities have the right to be heard,
regarding their decisions in relation to the affectation of space for religious
purposes in the town planning of those areas in which they have an organized
social presence.
2. The
municipal territory regulations and other instruments for the regulation of the
territory should foresee the granting of spaces for religious purposes.
Article 29
Use for religious purposes of
property intended for other purposes
1. Once
having an agreement with the landlord, or the majority of joint owners, in the
case of a building in a horizontal property, the usage of the building or a
parcel of the land for religious purposes, when such is not intended, cannot be
the basis of an objection, nor for an application of penalties, by the
administrative or autonomous authorities, if a suitable alternative to this
situation and objectives does not exist.
2. The
statement made in paragraph 1 does not impair the rights of the joint owners to
appeal in the general terms.
Article 30
Religious assets
1. Places
of worship, buildings, annexes or worship objects cannot be demolished or used
for any other purpose, except with the prior agreement of the respective church
or religious community, by expropriation for public use or by requisition, in
case of urgent public need, with the exception of the case when a demolition
becomes necessary due to the buildings being in danger of a collapse or place
danger to public health.
2. In
the cases of expropriation, requisition and demolition referred in the previous
paragraph, whenever possible, the respective church or religious community is
always heard-out. The latter is equally entitled to a previous hearing in the
determination of the execution of the works necessary to correct bad health
conditions, solidity or security against the risk of fire and in the
classification of religious assets such as cultural value.
3. In
any case, appropriation or non-religious usage shall not be practiced, unless
the assets have been deprived of their religious nature by the respective
church or religious community.
a) Receive
contributions from believers for the exercise of worship and rites, as well as
donations for the fulfillment of their religious purposes, with a regular or
casual nature;
b) Make
public collections, specifically within or at the door of the places of
worship, as well as in the buildings or places that belong to them;
c) Distribute
free of charge publications with declarations, notices or instructions on
religious matters and display them in places of worship.
1. Registered
religious corporate bodies are exempt of any tax or general, regional or local
contribution on the following:
a) Places
of worship or other property or parts of properties directly intended for the
realization of religious objectives;
b) Installations
of direct and exclusive support for activities with religious purposes;
c) Seminaries
or any establishments effectively destined for the training of ministers of
religion or religious education;
d) Outbuildings
or annexes of the properties described in sub-paragraphs a) to d) for the usage
of special social welfare institutions;
e) Gardens
and parks of the property described in sub-paragraphs a) to e) provided they
are not intended for profit purposes
a) Purchase
of goods for religious purposes;
b) Deeds
of incorporation of foundations, once registered as religious corporate bodies
CHAPTER IV
Statute
of churches and religious communities
Article 33
The following can acquire
legal personality through registration in the register of religious corporate
bodies which is created in the competent government department:
a) Churches
and other religious communities of national scope or, on the behalf,
representative organizations of believers residing on national territory;
b) Churches
and other religious communities of regional or local scope;
c) Consecrated
life institutions and other institutions with the character of associations or
foundations, established or recognized by the corporate bodies mentioned in
sub-paragraphs a) and b) in the pursuit of their religious purposes;
d) Federations
or associations of corporate bodies mentioned in the previous paragraphs;
The application for
registration is addressed to the competent government department and prepared
with the statutes and other documents that are allowed to be register:
a) The
name, which must be distinguishable from any other religious corporate body
existing in Portugal;
b) The
constitution, institution or establishment in Portugal of the organization
corresponding to the church or religious community or the deed of the
constitution of association or establishment and eventually, also the
recognition of the religious corporate body;
c) The
registered head-office in Portugal;
d) The
religious purposes;
e) The
goods or services that complete or shall complete the estate;
f)
The formation, composition, competence and operation
rules of their organs;
g) The
provisions on the dissolution of the corporate body;
h) The
method of appointment and the powers of their representatives;
i)
The identification of the incumbents of the bodies in
affectivity with their functions and of the representatives, and specifications
of the competence of the latter.
Registration
of churches or religious communities of national scope, or regional or local
scope when they have not been created or recognized by the above, is also
prepared with documentary evidence of:
a) The
general principles of the doctrine and description of religious practices and
acts of worship, particularly the rights and duties of the believers related to
the church or religious community, in addition, a summary of the aforementioned
elements should be presented;
b) Its
existence in Portugal, with particular emphasis on the facts which bear witness
to the organized social presence, religious
practice and length of time in Portugal.
1. Churches and religious communities of supranational
scope can set up a representative organisation of the resident believers in the
national territory, which shall require its own registration in the register,
instead of registration on the part of the church or religious community
existing on national territory.
1. Churches and religious communities registered with a
guarantee of duration are considered as settled in the country, being the
qualification witnessed by the Minister of Justice, in view of the number of
believers and the history of its existence in Portugal, after a hearing of the
Committee of Religious Freedom.
2. The certificate cannot be requested before 30 years of
organised social presence in the country, unless it is a case of a church or
religious community established abroad more than 60 years ago. The certificate
is entered in the register.
3. The application for the certificate shall be prepared
with the evidence of the facts on which it is based, in harmony with the
provision in Article 38.
1. If the applications for registration or the
certificate are inadequately prepared, the applicant shall be invited to make
up for the deficiencies within sixty days.
Rejection of registration
Registration can only be rejected through:
a)
Lack of legal requirements;
b)
Falsification of documents;
c)
Violation of the
constitutional limits of religious freedom.
1. Registration becomes mandatory after a year has passed
since the delivery of the application for registration, if in the meantime a
notification letter of rejection of the registration has not sent to the
applicant.
The elements modifications of the entry of the religious corporate body,
or the circumstances on which it is based, should be communicated to the
register.
1.
Religious corporate bodies
are dissolved:
a)
By deliberation of their
representative organs;
b)
By elapsed time limit, if
they have been set up temporarily;
c)
By the verification
of some other extinguished cause laid down in the deed of constitution or in
their internal regulations;
d)
By judicial decision, for the
causes of judicial dissolution of civic associations.
2.
The dissolution
of a religious corporate body involves the cancellation of the entry in the
respective register.
The capacity of religious corporate bodies embraces all the rights and
obligations necessary or suitable to the pursuit of their purposes.
Associations and foundations with religious objectives can also acquire
a legal personality under the terms foreseen on the Civil Code for private
corporate bodies, thus being liable to the respective regulations, except with
regard to their activity with religious objectives.
Agreements between churches or
religious communities and the State
Churches or religious communities settled in the country or federations
in which these are integrated can propose the conclusion of agreements with the
State on matters of common interest.
a)
Justifiably refuse to negotiate the agreement;
b)
Appoint a negotiating committee, composed by
representatives of the Ministries concerned and an equal number of Portuguese
citizens nominated by the church or religious community, with the task of
drawing up a draft agreement or a report on the reasons of its
impracticability. The Minister appoints the Chairman of the Committee.
The
following are bases for refusal to negotiate the agreement:
a) The
lack of assurance regarding the internal rules or the religious practice of the
church or religious community comply with the regulations of the Portuguese
legal system;
b) Five
years have not passed since the refusal of a previous proposal;
c) The
approval of a new law in order to meet the practical objectives of the proposal
is not necessary;
d) The
basic content of the proposal does not merit approval.
1. Once
approved by the Council of Ministers, the agreement is signed by the Prime
Minister and by the competent Ministers on account of the subject matter, on
behalf of the Government, and by the representatives of the church or religious
community or the federation.
The
agreement is submitted to the Assembly of the Republic with a law proposal,
which approves it.
Up to the
moment of deliberation of the Assembly of the Republic, which ratifies the
agreement, this can be amended by agreement of both parties, having any
amendment immediately communicated to the Assembly of the Republic.
Other agreements
Religious corporate bodies
can conclude other agreements with the State, the autonomous districts and
counties for the achievement of their purposes, which do not involve the
approval of a law.
The Committee of Religious
Freedom is created, an independent advisory body of the Parliament and the
Government.
1.
The Committee has functions covering examinations,
information, opinions and proposals on all matters related to the application
of the Law on Religious Freedom, with the development, improvement and any
revision of this Law and, in general, with the law concerning religions rights
in Portugal.
2.
The Committee has also the function of scientific
investigation of churches, communities and religious movements in Portugal.
1.
In the exercise of its functions it falls namely to
the Committee:
a) To
issue an opinion on the draft agreements between churches or religious
communities and the State;
b) To
issue an opinion on the settle
in the country of churches or religious communities;
c) To
issue an opinion on the composition of the Religious Confessions Broadcast Time
Committee;
d) To
issue opinions on the registration of churches or religious communities
requested by the registry department of religious corporate bodies;
e) Examine
the development of religious movements in Portugal and, in particular, collect
and update information on new religious movements, provide the necessary scientific
and statistical information to the departments, institutions and persons
interested and publish an annual report on the matter;
f)
Elaborate studies, information, opinions and
proposals that have been entrusted by law, by the Assembly of the Republic, by
the Government or on its own initiative.
2.
The Committee draws its own internal regulations.
In the exercise of its
functions, the Committee has the right to the cooperation of departments and
other public bodies.
a) The
Chairman, two members appointed by the Portuguese Episcopal Conference and
three members appointed by the member of the Government responsible for the
area of Justice amongst the people indicated by churches or non-Catholic
religious communities settled in Portugal and by the federations in which they
are integrated, taking into consideration the representation of each one and
the principle of tolerance;
b) Five
persons of recognized scientific competence in the areas relating to the
functions of the Committee appointed by the member of the Government
responsible for the area of Justice, in order to ensure the plurality and
neutrality of the State regarding religious issues.
Chairman and operation
The
Concordata between the Holy See and the Portuguese Republic dated May 7th,
1940, the Additional Protocol to the same of February 15th, 1975,
are kept, as well as the legislation applicable to the Catholic Church, not
being applicable to same the provisions of this Law relating to Churches or
religious communities registered or settle in the country, without prejudice of
acceptance by agreement between the State and the Catholic Church of any
arrangements.
Article
1615 of the Civil Code will now be read as follows:
“Article
1615”
Publicity
and format
“The
celebration of marriage is public and is subject, according to the will of the
betrothed:
a)
To the format laid down in this
code and in the laws of the civil register;
b)
To a religious format, under the
terms of special legislation.”
Sub-paragraph
b) of Article 1654 of the Civil Code shall be read as follows:
“ b) The
entries of urgent civil marriages or according to a religious format celebrated
in Portugal;”
Sub-paragraph
2 of article 1670 of the Civil Code shall be read as follows:
“2.
However, the rights of a third party which are compatible with the rights and
duties of a personal character of married couples and children, remain intact,
unless, this being a matter of registration through transcription, this has
been done within the seven days subsequent to the celebration.”
Law no.
4/71 dated August 21 and Decree 216/72 of June 27 are expressly revoked.
1.
Religious denominations and non-catholic religious
associations registered in the corresponding government department maintain
their legal personality and capacity, being subject to this law with respect to
their religious activities under the terms of article 44.
2.
These denominations and associations can request
their conversion to a religious corporate body under the terms of Articles 34
to 40 by way of compliance with the respective requirements, within the time
limit of three years from the entry into force of this law.
3.
If they have not done this, they shall only be
registered in the National Register of Corporate Bodies, where the files and
documents, which serve as the basis for the respective registers, shall be
dispatch.
4.
Once the time limit mentioned in sub-paragraph 2
expires, the current register of religious denominations and non-Catholic
religious associations of the Ministry of Justice is abolished.
For
ministers who benefit from the social security system set up by Regulatory
Decree 5/83 dated January the 31st and belong to religious
denominations or associations referred to in the previous article, and have not
been converted into religious corporate bodies, the respective scheme continues
to be applicable.
1.
The churches and religious
communities settled in the country, as well as the institutes of consecrated
life and other institutes, with a character of association or foundation,
founded or recognized by the former, as well as the federations and
associations to which they belong, may choose the system foreseen in article 1
of Decree-Law 20/90, dated January 13th, while it is in force, not being
applicable in those cases numbers 3 and 4 of article 32 of the current law.
Articles
32 and 65 come into force on the date of the beginning of the following fiscal
year of the entry into force of this law.
The
necessary time of organized social presence in the country for the registered
churches and religious communities to request their certificate confirming
their presence in the country to which the rule of the first part of number 2
of article 37 refers is 26 years in 2001, 27 years, in 2002, 28 years in 2003
and 29 years in 2004.
Fiscal and Legal Codes
The Government is
authorized to introduce in the respective fiscal and legal codes the fiscal
system arising from the present law.
The
Government should take all the required measures to ensure the fulfillment of
the present law and publish, within a term of sixty days, the legislation on
the registration of religious collective entities and the Committee on
Religious Freedom.
The Chairman of Parliament
(António
de Almeida Santos)