1. The personal law of commercial companies is the law of the State in which the principal and effective seat of their management is situated. A company whose registered office is in Portugal may not, however, invoke against third parties its subjection to a law other than Portuguese law.
1 - As sociedades comerciais têm como lei pessoal a lei do Estado onde se encontre situada a sede principal e efectiva da sua administração. A sociedade que tenha em Portugal a sede estatutária não pode, contudo, opor a terceiros a sua sujeição a lei diferente da lei portuguesa.
2. A company which transfers its effective seat to Portugal retains its legal personality if the law previously governing it so permits, but must bring its articles of association into conformity with Portuguese law.
2 - A sociedade que transfira a sua sede efectiva para Portugal mantém a personalidade jurídica, se a lei pela qual se regia nisso convier, mas deve conformar com a lei portuguesa o respectivo contrato social.
3. For the purposes of the preceding paragraph, a representative of the company must arrange for registration of the articles of association by which the company is thereafter to be governed.
3 - Para efeitos do disposto no número anterior, deve um representante da sociedade promover o registo do contrato pelo qual a sociedade passa a reger-se.
4. A company whose effective seat is in Portugal may transfer that seat to another country while retaining its legal personality if the law of that country so permits.
4 - A sociedade que tenha sede efectiva em Portugal pode transferi-la para outro país, mantendo a sua personalidade jurídica, se a lei desse país nisso convier.
5. A resolution to transfer the seat as provided for in the preceding paragraph must comply with the requirements for amendments to the articles of association and may in no circumstances be adopted by less than 75% of the votes corresponding to the share capital. Members who did not vote in favour of the resolution may withdraw from the company, and must notify the company of their decision within 60 days after publication of that resolution.
5 - A deliberação de transferência da sede prevista no número anterior deve obedecer aos requisitos para as alterações do contrato de sociedade, não podendo em caso algum ser tomada por menos de 75% dos votos correspondentes ao capital social. Os sócios que não tenham votado a favor da deliberação podem exonerar-se da sociedade, devendo notificá-la da sua decisão no prazo de 60 dias após a publicação da referida deliberação.
Effective seat is distinguished from registered office; 75% threshold and the within-60-days withdrawal notice are retained.
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Unofficial English translation prepared by BCA Portugal for reference. Only the Portuguese text published in the Diário da República has legal force. Editorial notes are ours and are not part of the statute.