Applied Research

1. PROTOCOL WITH THE INSURANCE GROUP "CAIXA SEGUROS"
 
The School of Law at Católica has entered into a protocol with several insurance companies that are part of a corporate group headed by Caixa Seguros e Saúde, SGPS, S.A. - which is totally owned by Caixa Geral de Depósitos - ((i) a Fidelidade, Companhia de Seguros, S.A., a (ii) Via Directa, Companhia de Seguros, S.A., e a (iii) Cares, Companhia de Seguros, S.A.). Such Protocol foresees the creation of legal advice services which aim to provide a technically qualified and speedy answer to the requests of the insurance companies above, whenever, following an incident, there are doubts regarding the allocation of liability of the parties involved.
 
Considering its position in the insurance national market and its objective to implement and maintain fair and efficient dispute resolution mechanisms in order to satisfy the public policy requirements established for this sector, as well as the needs and aspirations of the insurance policies? beneficiaries, the referred corporate group considered that it had a duty to provide the latter with independent and impartial dispute resolution mechanisms ensured by an entity well-known for its technical competence and high credibility. Such system should afford the parties involved in an accident a determination of the respective liability within a reasonable period of time.
 
In this context, the fellows at Católica Research Centre for the Future of Law are called upon to deliver legal opinions with the objective of providing interested parties with a technically independent view on an insured incident. 
This protocol has a large scope of application, covering insurance policies issued in the car, life, labor accidents, patrimonial damages, and civil liability sectors.
 
Project Manager: Ana Taveira da Fonseca
 
 
2. PROTOCOL WITH THE DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
 
The Lisbon School of Law at Católica and the School of Law at Universidade Nova de Lisboa have entered into a protocol with the Directorate-General for European Affairs, with the goal of fostering the technical and legal cooperation in the preparation of the pleadings to be submitted by Portugal within the context of the European Court of Justice preliminary reference procedures. This partnership reflects the parties' interest in assuring technical and scientific cooperation that allows not only a reinforcement of the quality of the legal services provided by the Directorate-General, but also the internationalization and divulgation of the scientific research and knowledge developed at Católica and Nova.
 
In the context of this Protocol, the professors and researchers of the Lisbon School of Law at Católica collaborate in the preparation of said pleadings, in articulation with and with the approval of the competent ministerial department. In particular, the partnership prescribes i) the elaboration and presentation of technical and legal information necessary to the development of proposals of written observations and other pleadings to be submitted by the Portuguese Republic in preliminary reference procedures, and ii) the participation in hearings at the ECJ whenever deemed necessary by the Directorate-General.
 
For the purpose of this Protocol, a Supervisory Committee was created - which gathers annually and whenever deemed necessary by the Parties -, being responsible for presenting an annual report on the Protocol's execution, which will assess that year's activity, suggest ways for the improvement of the cooperation between the Parties and propose the organization of events to present the work conducted over that year.
 
Project Manager: Patrícia Fragoso Martins