Small claims in Portugal: using the Julgados de Paz

In short: The Julgados de Paz are Portugal's small-claims courts — a faster, cheaper, more informal alternative to the regular judicial courts for everyday civil disputes worth up to €15,000. Created by Lei n.º 78/2001, they handle things like unpaid debts, neighbour and condominium quarrels, urban tenancy claims and civil liability, but not family, succession or employment matters. You can appear without a lawyer, the whole thing runs on a single €70 fee, and mediation is offered first. CourtStairs answers Portuguese and EU legal questions like this in plain language, with citations to the Diário da República you can check yourself.

If you have a modest dispute in Portugal — a €900 invoice a client refuses to pay, a leaking pipe from the flat upstairs, a deposit a landlord will not return — the ordinary courts can feel slow, formal and expensive. The Julgados de Paz were designed exactly for that gap. This post explains what they cover, the money limits, what it costs, and how the steps differ from a regular court — in plain English, for expats, foreigners and Portuguese readers who search in English.

What is a Julgado de Paz in Portugal?

A Julgado de Paz is an official small-claims court that decides everyday civil disputes worth up to €15,000 through a fast, informal, largely oral procedure. It is a proper court, not a private arbitration service. It is set up under Lei n.º 78/2001, run as a partnership between the State and municipalities, and its decisions have the same legal value as a judgment of a first-instance court. What makes it different is its philosophy: proceedings are meant to be simple, oral, quick and close to the citizen, with a strong push towards agreed settlements before anyone gets a decision imposed on them.

Crucially, using a Julgado de Paz is optional. Where one has competence over your dispute, it runs in parallel with the ordinary courts, and the claimant chooses which door to use. Nobody is forced into a Julgado de Paz, and nobody is barred from the regular courts because one exists.

What disputes can the Julgados de Paz decide?

Julgados de Paz decide listed civil disputes — debts, neighbour and condominium quarrels, urban tenancy claims, delivery of goods and civil liability — but never family, succession or labour matters. The subject-matter competence is listed in article 9 of Lei 78/2001. Julgados de Paz decide declaratory civil actions (they establish who owes what), including:

• Enforcing obligations, except money obligations under a contract of adhesion.
• Delivery of movable things (handing over goods).
• Condominium rights and duties, where general assembly resolution is not required (see condominium rules and disputes).
• Rights and duties over movable and immovable property between neighbours — boundaries, water, tree roots, servitudes.
• Possession, ownership and usucapion (acquisitive prescription).
• Urban tenancy disputes (arrendamento urbano), except eviction (despejo) — for example a deposit a landlord will not return.
• Civil liability, both contractual and non-contractual.
• Breach of contract, except employment contracts and rural leases.
• Indemnity claims arising from certain minor crimes (those needing a private complaint) where no criminal charge has been brought.

Two limits sit on top of that list. First, the value of the claim must not exceed €15,000 (art. 8) — a ceiling raised from the original €5,000 by Lei n.º 54/2013 in 2013. Second, three whole areas are carved out entirely: family law, succession law and labour law. A divorce, an inheritance fight or an unfair-dismissal claim cannot go to a Julgado de Paz, whatever its value.

How much does a Julgado de Paz case cost?

A Julgado de Paz case costs a single flat fee of €70, dropping to €50 (€25 per party) when the dispute is settled in mediation — with legal aid available if you cannot pay. Cost is where the Julgados de Paz shine. Instead of court fees that scale with the amount at stake, there is a single flat fee (taxa única) of €70 for the whole case. It is normally borne by the losing party, though the juiz de paz can split it between claimant and defendant. If the dispute is resolved in mediation, the fee falls to €50, split as €25 each.

Since 2020 the payment of this fee has generally been deferred to the end of the process rather than charged up front, and Decreto-Lei n.º 26/2024 further softened the cost rules — for instance, where a claimant declares they do not want the case moved elsewhere, a declaration of incompetence by the court no longer triggers costs. If you cannot afford the fee, legal aid (apoio judiciário) can cover it on the same terms as in any other court.

How does a Julgado de Paz case work, step by step?

A Julgado de Paz case follows a deliberately short path: you file a claim, try mediation, and only if that fails does a judge hear the evidence and decide. Mediation comes first, and no lawyer is needed to start.

1. File the claim (requerimento)Lodge it at the Julgado de Paz counter, in person, in writing or verbally with staff help. No lawyer needed.
2. Pre-mediation & mediationA neutral mediator helps the parties try to reach their own agreement. The mediator has no power to impose anything.
3. Agreement or hearingA settlement is homologated and ends the case (fee €50). If no deal, the case goes to the juiz de paz.
4. Trial before the juiz de pazA simple, largely oral hearing. The judge first tries conciliation, then takes evidence and decides.
5. Decision (and possible appeal)The sentença has the force of a first-instance judgment. It can be appealed only if the claim exceeds €2,500.01.

Here is how the two routes line up:

Can you appeal a Julgado de Paz decision?

You can only appeal a Julgado de Paz decision when the claim is worth more than €2,500.01 — below that, the sentença is final. A decision of the juiz de paz is a real judgment. If the other side does not comply, you can move to enforcement (execução) just as with any court decision. Because the process is meant to be light-touch, the right to appeal is limited: you can appeal to the local judicial court (the comarca where the Julgado de Paz sits) only when the claim is worth more than €2,500.01 — half the first-instance alçada. Below that, the decision is final. On appeal, a lawyer becomes mandatory, so the informality of the first stage does not carry all the way up.

Is a Julgado de Paz the right choice for your dispute?

A Julgado de Paz is usually the better choice for a clear, low-value civil dispute — an unpaid invoice, a consumer or tenancy problem, a neighbour quarrel — because it is faster, cheaper and less formal, and mediation can end things without a fight. The regular courts remain the route once the claim is bigger or falls outside the list.

Where CourtStairs fits

This is exactly the kind of question CourtStairs is built for: it tells you in plain language whether a dispute fits the Julgados de Paz, and links each point to its source — Lei 78/2001 for competence and the €15,000 limit, Lei 54/2013 for the increase, Decreto-Lei 26/2024 for the cost changes — so you can open the Diário da República and read the provision yourself. It works in English and Portuguese and has a free tier.

This is general information about the law, not legal advice. Competence, thresholds and fees turn on the exact facts and the specific court, rules change, and national and EU law interact, so confirm anything important against the primary source or a qualified adviser before you act.