Chapter VII · Civil liability for the incorporation, management and supervision of the company

Article 72 Liability of members of management to the company

Artigo 72.º · Responsabilidade de membros da administração para com a sociedade

Código das Sociedades Comerciais · Decree-Law No. 262/86 · consolidated text checked 26 October 2026

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1. Managers and directors are liable to the company for losses caused to it by acts or omissions in breach of their duties under the law or the articles of association, unless they prove that they acted without fault.

1 - Os gerentes ou administradores respondem para com a sociedade pelos danos a esta causados por actos ou omissões praticados com preterição dos deveres legais ou contratuais, salvo se provarem que procederam sem culpa.

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2. Liability is excluded if a person referred to in the preceding paragraph proves that the person acted on an informed basis, free of any personal interest and according to criteria of business rationality.

2 - A responsabilidade é excluída se alguma das pessoas referidas no número anterior provar que actuou em termos informados, livre de qualquer interesse pessoal e segundo critérios de racionalidade empresarial.

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3. Managers and directors who did not participate in a collective resolution or who voted against it are likewise not liable for losses resulting from it; in the latter case, they may have their voting statement recorded within five days in the relevant minutes book, in a written communication addressed to the supervisory body, where one exists, or before a notary or registrar.

3 - Não são igualmente responsáveis pelos danos resultantes de uma deliberação colegial os gerentes ou administradores que nela não tenham participado ou hajam votado vencidos, podendo neste caso fazer lavrar no prazo de cinco dias a sua declaração de voto, quer no respectivo livro de actas, quer em escrito dirigido ao órgão de fiscalização, se o houver, quer perante notário ou conservador.

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4. A manager or director who failed to exercise a statutory right of opposition when in a position to do so is jointly and severally liable for acts which that person could have opposed.

4 - O gerente ou administrador que não tenha exercido o direito de oposição conferido por lei, quando estava em condições de o exercer, responde solidariamente pelos actos a que poderia ter-se oposto.

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5. Managers and directors incur no liability to the company where the act or omission is based on a resolution of the members, even if that resolution is voidable.

5 - A responsabilidade dos gerentes ou administradores para com a sociedade não tem lugar quando o acto ou omissão assente em deliberação dos sócios, ainda que anulável.

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6. In companies with a supervisory body, that body's favourable opinion or consent does not release members of management from liability.

6 - Nas sociedades que tenham órgão de fiscalização, o parecer favorável ou o consentimento deste não exoneram de responsabilidade os membros da administração.

What we checked in this article

The burden to establish absence of fault, informed decision defence, dissent and corporate-resolution exception 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.

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