macliam

The name is the same, however the Julgados de Paz and Centros de Arbitragem are both part of GRAL ( the Alternative Dispute Resolution Office) of the Ministry of Justice - in a way more akin to small claims courts. They exist to provide access to justice outside the formal court process, offering mediation, arbitration and judgements for various aspects of personal actions, but limited both in the scope and value of the case involved (and I'm not entirely sure what these are...). The second issue with the system is that it works in partnership with local municipalities, with shared costs, so doesn't appear to exist everywhere (but again, what their geographical reach is, I don't know).

These systems are relatively new (since 2002, I think) and seem quite fragmented and poorly advertised ... probably because they reduce the need to pay a private lawyer for access to justice They seem to be a good idea, not yet developed to their full potential.

I have used both, in different circumstances and with different levels of help, but both experiences were positive. The Julgados de Paz (in the Alentejo) were helpful when I ran into problems with a builder - they did not resolve the issue (it was beyond their scope) but explained the issues and liabilities under the law of the situation I had. They were able to read through contracts and advise whether they were legal and any "loopholes"..... and although, in the end, I had to go through the formal court process, I was far better informed without having to pay a fortune. The Arbitration Service (in the Algarve) worked to resolve my dispute with a well-known bedding company - achieving a satisfactory outcome in a situation where I had been stonewalled by the company concerned. In both cases the people I dealt with were legally trained - and in both cases they were able to work towards legally enforceable solutions to cases which fell under their terms of service.

Due to the restrictions in the scope and calue of the cases over which they have jurisdiction, I'm not sure which, if either, of the approaches is directly applicable to the case in hand - but they may be able to provide advice on what is and is not possible under the Portuguese legal system...... without having a vested interest in spinning out the process for personal gain (not, of course, that I would ever suggest that Portuguese lawyers would ever do such a thing...........)

The other thing here is that these processes don't seem to have evolved fully and have probably been impacted by budget custs and perceived "lack of demand" - so the more they are used, the more they may grow in scope.