Child pornography laws in Portugal state that such pornography is statutorily criminalised in the
Portuguese Criminal Code The current Penal Code of Portugal ( pt, Código Penal Português) was promulgated in 1982 and came into force on 1 January 1983 after the adoption of the Portuguese Constitution of 1976. The new Penal Code replaced the old one of 1886 after the end ...
.
Age of consent
The
age of sexual consent
Age or AGE may refer to:
Time and its effects
* Age, the amount of time someone or something has been alive or has existed
** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1
* Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older
* ...
in Portugal is, in principle, 14 years of age. The participation of underage persons in pornographic scenes is subject to stricter standards, however, because they are subject to the general regime of adulthood, which was set by the Civil Code at the age of 18.
Criminalized behaviours
Section 176 of the Portuguese Criminal Code criminalises the following behaviours:
* use or the incitement of an underaged person to participate in a pornographic scene (including live sex shows, photos, tapes, digital recordings, etc.)
* production or the distribution of any materials containing underaged persons engaging in pornography
* possession of pornographic materials containing underaged persons engaging in pornography with the purpose of distributing them
* use, incitement to use, production, distribution or possession with the intention of distribution of pornographic materials containing a realistic representation of an under aged person
Penalties against pornographic involvement
This is a complex provision that, in practice, attempts to ban the participation of all persons below age 18 in any kind of scene of a pornographic nature.
The standard penalty for any of these actions is
imprisonment
Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...
for a period between one and five years. This standard penalty is subject to a number of aggravations and attenuations, however, depending on the circumstances.
[See section 177 of the Portuguese Criminal Code]
This section of the Criminal Code has raised severe controversy. Its terminology is imprecise since it does not define "''pornographic scene''". Also, many have criticised the criminalisation of the "''realistic representation of minors''" because they see it a disproportionate restriction of the freedom of expression, a fundamental right protected by the Portuguese Constitution.
These difficulties caused Portuguese courts to be extremely cautious in applying this section of the Criminal Code. The
case law
Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of a l ...
varies widely and there is no
legal certainty Legal certainty is a principle in national and international law which holds that the law must provide those subject to it with the ability to regulate their conduct.
The legal system needs to permit those subject to the law to regulate their condu ...
concerning the application of this provision.
See also
*
Laws regarding child pornography
Child pornography is illegal in most countries, but there is substantial variation in definitions, categories, penalties, and interpretations of laws. Differences include the definition of "child" under the laws, which can vary with the age of ...
**
Child pornography laws in the Netherlands Child pornography laws in the Netherlands declare child pornography illegal, making it one of the 103 out of 193 UN member states where it is illegal.
Dutch law referring to child pornography
According to the Wetboek van Strafrecht:
* Article 2 ...
**
Child pornography laws in the United Kingdom
Child pornography laws in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are covered by the Protection of Children Act 1978 ("the 1978 Act"), which made it illegal to take, make, distribute, show, or possess for the intent of showing or distributing ...
**
Child pornography laws in the United States
Child pornography laws in the United States specify that child pornography is illegal under federal law and in all states and is punishable by up to 20 years' imprisonment or a fine of $5000. The Supreme Court of the United States has found child ...
**
Child pornography laws in Australia
Child pornography laws in Australia prohibit all sexual depictions of children under an age set by state and territory legislation. The relevant ages are under 16 in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Austral ...
**
Child pornography laws in Canada
Child pornography laws in Canada forbid the production, distribution, and possession of child pornography, which are punishable by up to 20 years' imprisonment or a fine of $5,000.
Visual and written representations
Prohibition covers the visual ...
**
Child pornography laws in Japan
The production, sale, distribution, and commercialization of child pornography in Japan is illegal under the ''Act on Punishment of Activities Relating to Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, and the Protection of Children'' (1999), and is pun ...
References
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
Portuguese criminal law
Childhood in Portugal
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