Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Acknowledgement
- Contents
- List of Cases
- List of Abbreviations
- List of Contributors
- PART I INTRODUCTION
- PART II EUROPE
- PART II BEYOND EUROPE
- PART III THE SUPRANATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
- PART IV LEGAL PRACTICE PERSPECTIVE
- PART V INTRADISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS AND REFORM RECOMMENDATIONS
- Key Source Bibliography
- Index
- About the Editors
Enforcing Consumer and Capital Markets Law in Portugal
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 December 2020
- Frontmatter
- Acknowledgement
- Contents
- List of Cases
- List of Abbreviations
- List of Contributors
- PART I INTRODUCTION
- PART II EUROPE
- PART II BEYOND EUROPE
- PART III THE SUPRANATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
- PART IV LEGAL PRACTICE PERSPECTIVE
- PART V INTRADISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS AND REFORM RECOMMENDATIONS
- Key Source Bibliography
- Index
- About the Editors
Summary
PUBLIC LAW
DO ELIMINATION OF CONSEQUENCES, DAMAGES AND SKIMMING OF PROFITS (BY FINES) EXIST?
Administrative Offences
Case 1
The Advertising Code (approved by Decree-Law 330/90, 23 October) is relevant on this issue. Given that advertising must respect the truth and not distort the facts (article 10(1)), statements on the characteristics of the good being advertised must be accurate and capable of being proven, at any time, before the competent authorities (article 10(2)). Thus, the authority with competence to initiate the administrative offence proceedings where there is misleading advertising in terms of Decree-Law 57/2008, 26 March (transposing Directive 2005/29/EC, of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 11 May 2005, concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market), may require the advertiser to present proof of the material accuracy of the information actually contained in the advertising (article 11(1) and (2) of the Advertising Code). If the proof demanded is not presented or is insufficient, the information is presumed to be inaccurate (article 11(3)). The unfair commercial practice mentioned constitutes an administrative offence punishable with a fine of between €3,000 and €44,891.81, these amounts being applicable to legal persons (article 21 of Decree-Law 57/2008, cited above).
Furthermore, in line with article 114(4) of the Highway Code (approved by Decree-Law 114/94, 3 May), a manufacturer or seller that places on the market vehicles, systems, components or accessories in breach of the rules governing their manufacture and trading is punished with a fine of between €600 and €3,000 in the case of a natural person or between €1,200 and €6,000 in the case of a legal person and with loss of the objects, which must be apprehended when the infringement is confirmed.
In certain circumstances, the amount of these sanctions may be higher due to the profit obtained from the practice of the unlawful act: article 18(2) of the Administrative Offences Act (approved by Decree-Law 433/82, 27 October) lays down that:
if the agent gains from the infringement an economic benefit which can be calculated as being higher than the upper limit of the fine, and there are no other means to eliminate it, the fine may be raised up to the amount of the benefit, although this increase may not be more than one third of the upper limit established by law.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Enforcing Consumer and Capital Markets LawThe Diesel Emissions Scandal, pp. 221 - 254Publisher: IntersentiaPrint publication year: 2020