Emergency and financial re-equilibrium of public contracts under Decree-Law n.º 19- A/2020: an exception to the state of exception?

Abstract

On 30 April 2020, the Portuguese Government adopted DecreeLaw n.º 19-A/2020, in which it “establishes an exceptional and temporary regime of financial re-equilibrium of long-term contracts” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a legislative act which raises serious issues both from a constitutional and administrative law perspective. In this article, we assess the compatibility of its rules with core constitutional principles and with the limitations arising out of the constitutionally regulated state of emergency. We conclude that several of the article’s statutes directly breach the Constitutional and the state of emergency guarantees. Accordingly, Decree-Law n.º 19-A/2020 represents an exception to the state of exception and, as such, it is unavoidably unconstitutional.