The addressee of a compulsory pecuniary sanction in portuguese Administrative procedure law

Abstract

The principle of effective judicila protection is a paramount principle of the Portuguese legal system. It reaches an axiomatic dimension and is expressly foreseen as a fundamental right by the Portuguese Constitution. To avoid its unconstitutionality, article 169 (1) of the Administrative Judicial Procedure Code must be construed in accordance with the constitutional provisions. This particular interpretation demands that the legal sphere of administrative agent which is competent for the enforcement. It further demands that to this agent is granted adequate judicial protection, namely the judicial requirement of guilt and the right to audi alteram partem.