Legal provisions for agenda initiatives at national level

Constitution (7th revision, 2005)

Article 167 (Initiative in relation to laws and referenda)

1. The competence to initiate laws and referenda lies with Members of the Assembly of the Republic, parliamentary groups and the Government, and also, under the terms and conditions laid down by law, with groups of registered electors. The competence to initiate laws in relation to the autonomous regions lies with the respective Legislative Assemblies.

Legislative Initiative by Citizens (Law no. 17/2003 of 4 June 2003, last amended by Law no. 52/2017 of 13 July 2017)

Article 2: Holders of the right

Citizens who are definitively registered on the electoral roll in Portuguese territory or abroad are holders of the right to initiate legislation.

Article 3: Object

The object of legislative initiatives submitted by citizens may be any of the matters included in the Assembly of the Republic’s legislative competence, save:

a) Amendments to the Constitution;

b) Those which the Constitution reserves to the Government;

c) Those which the Constitution reserves to the Azores and Madeira Regional Legislative Assemblies;

d) Those provided for in Article 164 of the Constitution, with the exception of subparagraph (i);

e) Generic amnesties and pardons;

f) Those with a budgetary, tax-related or financial nature or content.