The COVID-19 pandemic led, in Portugal, to the publication of 250 exceptional laws. A number of principles may be extracted from these: (1) efficiency; (2) preservation of the status quo; (3) crystallisation of risk; (4) socialised damages. These principles operate in conjunction with the fundamental values of the system, notably those of good faith (bona fides) and related legal institutions: culpa in contrahendo, abuse of rights, change of circumstances and complexity of obligations.

COVID-19 AND PORTUGAL

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an outbreak of acute respiratory disease, caused by the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus, to be a pandemic. The disease itself has been known as COVID-19: an acronym from coronavirus disease 2019, the date of its identification.

In Portugal (11 million inhabitants), the first case was detected on 2 March 2020, imported from Italy. The first death occurred on the 17 March. On 31 March, there were 7,443 cases of infection and 160 deaths; on 30 April, 25,045 cases and 989 deaths; on 30 May, 32,203 cases and 1,396 deaths. Compared to its most immediate neighbours, such as Spain (47 million inhabitants), where cases totalled 240,000 and deaths 30,000, Portugal’s situation was favourable, although the evolution of the disease in Lisbon raises cause for concern. In any case, economically, the consequences have paralleled those of other countries. Experts predicted a drop in GDP, in 2020, of between 5% and 12%: a massive reduction, with variables that change from day to day.

SPECIAL LEGISLATION

As of early March 2020, successive pieces of legislation were published to address the COVID-19 crisis: some dealt with specific situations (e.g. credit moratoria), whilst others were more wide-ranging (e.g. the declaration of the state of emergency). We have counted: 73 in March, 122 in April and 69 in May, from orders to laws passed by Parliament, totalling 264, not counting measures adopted in the autonomous regions (Azores and Madeira) or by local authorities.