Article 36 of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic from the Jurisprudence of the Portuguese Constitutional Court – A Critical Analysis

Abstract

Based on an analysis of rulings from the Portuguese Constitutional Court (1976-2026), this article examines the evolution of the concept of family in the Portuguese legal system, highlighting how constitutional jurisprudence has kept pace with the social transformations that have occurred in recent decades. Article 36 of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, a precept originating from the 1976 Constitution and only occasionally amended since then, was conceived within a normative context influenced by the international human rights instruments of the time and based on a predominantly traditional conception of family, of a heterosexual and nuclear nature. However, the case law of the Constitutional Court has been ruling on successive legislative reforms that reflect a progressive transformation of this model, contributing to a broadening of the legal concept of family, based on the recognition of new family realities.