The law firm Carlos Barroso & Associados intends to proceed in September with legal action against EMEL, the municipal company responsible for parking enforcement in Lisbon. The firm already has more than a thousand cases related to EMEL traffic violations and intends to contest several procedures adopted by the company. If the courts accept the arguments presented, the decision could open the way to refund requests for amounts paid by thousands of drivers, although there is no judicial decision to that effect yet.
One of the main arguments of the action concerns the geographic and time limits of EMEL's enforcement. Lawyer Carlos Barroso considers that violations were issued in locations or at times when the company would not have had competence to act. EMEL rejects this interpretation, invoking Decree-Law No. 44/2005 and Decree-Law No. 107/2018, which transferred enforcement powers to the municipalities. The action will also contest how drivers' defenses are handled and alleged coercive collections of already prescribed fines.
Between 2020 and 2024, more than 1.13 million traffic violation notices were issued, with approximately 37.7 million euros paid in fines between 2020 and 2025. These numbers do not mean that this amount is at risk of being refunded, nor do they allow determining how many violations may be related to the alleged irregularities. The firm also intends to claim amounts related to immobilizations and towing of vehicles that it considers illegal.
For now, no automatic refund is foreseen. The legal action will have to progress and the courts will have to decide whether the lawyers' arguments have merit. Even if a favorable decision is obtained, it will be necessary to determine which cases are specifically covered and what legal mechanism is available to recover amounts already paid.
