Ministério da Defesa Nacional (Ministry for National Defence)
Decree-Law
(This is not an official translation of the law)
Law no. 29/82, of 11 December, the Law of National Defense and Armed Forces attaches to the national defense policy a global nature, comprising military and non-military components, as well as an interministerial scope, by holding every organ and department of the State responsible for the promotion of the indispensable conditions for its execution.
The national defense policy presents a permanent character, operating at any time and anywhere, which confers to the emergency civil planning and its basic aims a special meaning.
Therefore, it is vital to the security of the country that plans and proceedings able to respond to situations of serious abnormality, international crisis or war times are established, so to ensure the functioning of fundamental activities, namely concerning the sectors of food, industry and energy production and supply, transports, communications, protection of populations and civil support to military efforts.
The above mentioned law determines that national defense shall be also exercised in the context of the international commitments undertaken by the country, which involves at the same time some action in the field of emergency civil planning.
Through Decree-Law no. 279/84, of 13 August, the Government created the National Council for the Emergency Civil Planning, subject to the Prime-Minister, and the commissions of a sectorial scope, subject in direct terms to the respective portfolio ministers and in functional terms to the President of that Council; thus the Country disposes of a structure intended to respond to the national needs in the area of emergency civil planning and to ensure the Portuguese participation in the Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee (SCEPC), in its subordinate committees and in the war time civil agencies, of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The experience gained with the effective installation and functioning of this structure advises the revision of the legislation published at the time, in order to achieve a more accurate and suitable definition and articulation of the organisms already working and to attain the necessary effectiveness in the pursuit of the established aims.
It is also advisable to consider the possibility of integrating the structures of emergency civil planning, regarding its permanent staff, in organs of crisis management to support the Government, thus turning the specialization of the CNPCE and sectorial commissions staff to advantage, both at a national and Atlantic Alliance level.
Having heard the organs of self-government of the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira;
Therefore:
Under the terms of paragraph 1a) of article 201 of the Constitution, the Government hereby decrees the following:
CHAPTER I
National system of emergency civil planning
Article 1
The national system of emergency civil planning comprises:
a . The National Council for the Emergency Civil Planning;
b . The commissions for emergency planning.
CHAPTER II
The National Council for the Emergency Civil Planning
Article 2
Nature and subordination
The National Council for the Emergency Civil Planning, hereinafter referred to as "CNPCE", is an organ of coordination and support, with a collegial nature, under the authority of the Prime Minister.
Article 3
Aims
The aims of the CNPCE are:
The definition and permanent updating of emergency civil planning policies, namely in the areas of transports, energy, agriculture, fisheries and food, industry and communications, for the purpose of ensuring, in a crisis situation or war times, the continuity of governmental action, the survival and resistance power of the Nation, the support to Armed Forces, the protection of populations and the safeguard of State property;
At a NATO level, to contribute towards the definition of policies and doctrines followed in the sphere of the Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee (SCEPC) and to assure the coordination of activities of Portuguese representatives at the organisms subject to it.
Article 4
Tasks
The CNPCE is responsible for the following tasks:
1) At a national level:
a) to contribute towards the definition of the national emergency civil planning policy;
b) to coordinate the emergency civil planning;
c) to develop general guidelines for emergency civil planning, having regard to the fulfillment of civil and military needs;
d) to contribute for the creation of guidelines for the adaptation of public services during crisis situations or war times;
e) to judge the plans submitted by sectorial scope commissions, public services and other entities, concerning emergency civil planning;
f) to identify public or private services which should perform duties regarding emergency civil planning;
g) to ensure the execution of guidelines and plans approved by the Government, requiring all information deemed necessary;
to procure the collaboration of competent public and private services, as well as specialists, for the realization of research and information;
h) to promote the exposition of problems concerning emergency civil planning before the population;
i) to advise or inform on all matters submitted by the Prime Minister or the Minister for National Defense;
j) to present proposals regarding adjustments of legislation in order to respond to national needs and commitments assumed at NATO
2) At a NATO level:
a) To judge relevant documents and information presented before NATO Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee (SCEPC);
b) To entrust the sectorial scope commissions with the performance of researches;
c) To establish the rules for the appointment and preparation of national representatives and technicians designated for NATO wartime civil agencies.
Article 5
Composition
1) The Minister for National Defense presides over the CNPCE, which comprises a deputy president and the following members:
a) The presidents of the emergency planning commissions;
b) A representative of the National Civil Protection Service;
c) A representative of the General Staff of the Armed Forces;
d) A representative of the Minister for the Republic for the Autonomous Region of the Azores;
e) A representative of the Minister for the Republic for the Autonomous Region of Madeira;
f) A representative of the Regional Government of the Azores;
g) A representative of the Regional Government of Madeira.
2) The president may convene representatives of other public or private entities to participate in the Council's work, whenever matters under discussion so require, with no right to vote.
Article 6
The President
1) It is incumbent upon the CNPCE President:
a) to guide supremely the operation of the CNPCE;
b) to convene and direct the respective sittings;
c) to coordinate the activities to be developed by commissions, at a national level and in the scope of NATO, priorly approving all information and proposals to be presented by national representatives before the corresponding committees of SCEPC/NATO;
d) To appoint the national delegation for the plenary sittings of SCEPC.
2) The President may delegate competence to the deputy president.
Article 7
The deputy president
1) It is incumbent upon the deputy president:
a) to replace the president in his absence or inability to act;
b) to preside over the Portuguese delegation at SCEPC/NATO;
c) To perform the duties inherent to the competencies delegated by the president and to pursue all actions entrusted to him by the latter.
d) To guide and coordinate supremely the CNPCE support services, exercising the self-competence of the directing staff presented in map 2, annex to Decree-Law n.º 323/89 of 26 September;
e) To submit before the president of the CNPCE the matters to be issued as orders;
2) The deputy president, appointed by joint ministerial order of the Prime Minister and the Minister for National Defense, shall be a civil personality of acknowledged competence or a general officer of any branch of the Armed Forces; whenever a member of a military force is appointed, the respective chief of general staff shall be previously heard.
3) Whenever a general officer is appointed, the nomination is deemed as operating in a normal commission regime.
4) The position of deputy president is given the status of director-general, for the purposes of remuneration.
Article 8
Assistants
1) The deputy president is assisted by three assistants in the preparation and coordination of researches and opinions and in the coordination of activities at a national and NATO level, to whom he may delegate or sub-delegate competence and who replace him in his absence or inability to act, under the terms of an order.
2) The assistants are appointed by ministerial order of the Minister for National Defense, by proposal of the CNPCE deputy president, and act in renewable service commission, for three years, or in normal service commission, respectively from the staff list of civil service or Armed Forces; for purposes of remuneration, the position of assistant is given the status of service director.
Article 9
Internal Regulation
The CNPCE shall create its own internal regulation, in compliance with the provisions of this statutory instrument.
Article 10
Sittings
1) The Council holds ordinary and extraordinary sittings, being ordinary the ones that occur with the periodicity determined in the internal regulation and extraordinary the ones that are convened by the president for the transaction of specific business.
2) The Council holds plenary and restrict sessions, according to the business under discussion and the rules established in the internal regulation.
Article 11
Support Services
The CNPCE disposes of support services, directed by the deputy president, for the elaboration of research and technical work, administrative support and national and NATO documentation control, which comprise:
a)Research and Planning Core Group;
b) Administrative Section;
c) Security Core Group;
d) NATO Sub-Registry.
Article 12
Research and Planning Core Group
It is incumbent upon the Research and Planning Core Group to elaborate research, technical work and opinions necessary to render concrete actions regarding areas not specific to the planning committees.
Article 13
Administrative Section
The Administrative Section shall ensure support to the CNPCE in matters concerning administrative work, records, staff, accounting and stewardship.
Article 14
Security Core Group
It is incumbent upon the Security Core Group to comply with the tasks and competencies established in the security instructions legislation, namely the Resolution of the Council of Ministers n.º 50/88 of 3 December.
Article 15
NATO Sub-Registry
It is incumbent upon the NATO Sub-Registry, under the technical authority of the National Security Authority, to ensure compliance with the security instructions issued by NATO and the National Security Authority, namely:
a) the register, control and distribution of NATO correspondence;
b) the periodic examination of NATO Control Posts, subject to it;
c) To promote and verify the credentials of Portuguese citizens who, in the area of emergency civil planning, should gain access to classified information with a confidential or superior security degree.
Article 16
Financial commitments
The CNPCE budget represents a division in its own of the chapter "Departments of Government members" of the Ministry for National Defense.
Article 17
Premises
The CNPCE operates in the premises of the Ministry for National Defense.
CHAPTER III
The commissions for emergency planning
Article 18
Subordination and Regulation
1) The sectorial commissions are subject in direct terms to the respective portfolio minister and in functional terms to the President of CNPCE, and have the nature of sectorial organs for emergency civil planning and representation in the corresponding SCEPC subject committees; hereinafter the commissions are designated:
a) Under the authority of the Ministry for Industry and Energy:
i)Commission for Emergency Energetic Planning;
ii)Commission for Emergency Industrial Planning;
b) Under the authority of the Minister for Public Works, Transports and Communication:
i) Commission for Emergency Communication Planning;
ii) Commission for Emergency Land Transports Planning;
iii) Commission for Emergency Air Transports Planning;
iv) Commission for Emergency Sea Transports Planning;
c) Under the authority of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Commission for Emergency Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Planning.
2) Under the authority of the Minister for Internal Administration, the National Civil Protection Service (SNPC) shall ensure the planning of the civil protection actions established in article 3 of Decree-Law n.º 510/80 of 25 October, in crisis or war times, as well as the national participation in the tasks of the Civil Defense Committee/SCEPC and respective work groups, coordinating in Portugal the NATO doctrine proclaimed in that scope, being for this purpose under the authority of the president of the CNPCE.
3) The regulation of the sectorial scope commissions mentioned in paragraph 1 is object of further administrative ruling.
4) The presidents of the commissions are appointed, in cumulation, by ministerial order of the portfolio ministers, among director-generals or entities of similar level of each ministry, or among personalities of acknowledged competence, in matters concerning the aims of the commissions.
5) The presidents of the commissions are entitled to a monthly allowance equivalent to 15% of the index 900 of the general regime salary scale and are given the status of a director-general for the purposes of article 35 of Decree-Law n.º 248/85 of 15 July.
6) The commissions comprise a deputy president, appointed by ministerial order of the portfolio minister and after proposal of the respective president, who operates in a renewable commission service, for three years, and is given the status of service director for purposes of remuneration.
CHAPTER IV
Staff
Article 19
Staff List
1) The CNPCE staff list is included in the annex to the present statutory instrument, of which it is an integral part.
2) The staff list comprises the following groups:
a) Directing staff;
b) Superior technical staff;
c) Technical staff;
d) Technical-professional staff;
e) Administrative staff;
f) Auxiliary staff.
Article 20
Recruitment
1) The recruitment for the careers and categories of the CNPCE staff list shall be carried out under the terms of the law generically applicable to civil service.
2) The recruitment for the technical auxiliary staff career shall be carried out under the terms of article 20 of Decree-Law n.º 28/85 of 15 July, or among individuals certified with the 11th grade.
Article 21
Provision
1) The provision of the staff list shall be carried out under the terms of general law.
2) The staff list provision shall be carried out, preferably, among civil service and Armed Forces staff lists.
Article 22
Requisition and secondment
The president of the CNPCE is entitled to make use of the requisition and secondment of staff mechanisms for the performance of tasks of a technical or specific character.
Article 23
Provision of services
The Minister for National Defense may enter into service agreements with experts of acknowledged competence, for the rendering of specialized technical assistance, under the terms of article 17 of Decree-Law n.º 41/84 of 3 February, the text of which was altered by Decree-Law n.º 299/85 of 29 July.
CHAPTER V
Final and transitional provisions
Article 24
Movement of staff
1) The employees that, at the date of entry in force of the present statutory instrument, render services at CNPCE are transferred to the posts presented in the table annex to the present statutory instrument, according to the following rules:
a) to a category similar to the one hold by the employee;
b) without prejudice to legal qualifications, to a category which integrates the functions actually performed, being remunerated by the level corresponding to the same remunerative index, or, whenever the index coincidence does not occur, by the level corresponding to a higher index, the closest in the structure of the career for which the movement is being processed.
c) The category correspondence is done according to the remunerative index corresponding to level 1 of the category hold by the employee and to level 1 of the category of the new career, without prejudice to the index attribution in the terms of the preceding paragraph.
3) The movement shall be performed under the terms of general law.
Article 25
Crisis situation
In a crisis situation or wartime, the deputy president, assistants and staff of support services shall be integrated in organs of support to the Prime Minister yet to be defined under the terms of the law, and analogous proceedings shall be made concerning the staff of sectorial commissions, as to the respective portfolio areas.
Article 26
Transitional provision
1) The members of military forces rendering services for CNPCE and who, on 31 December 1989, operated in a normal commission regime, remain in this situation.
2) The administrative rules that regulate the sectorial commissions remain in force until the publication of the ones mentioned in paragraph 3 of article 18.
Article 27
Revocatory provision
Decree-laws n. 279/84 of 13 August and 324/86 of 29 September, as well as paragraph 11 of Administrative Rule n.º 462/87 of 2 June are hereby revoked.
Checked and approved in the Council of Ministers of 7 February 1991.- Aníbal António Cavaco Silva - Vasco Joaquim Rocha Vieira - Lino Dias Miguel - Joaquim Fernando Nogueira - Luís Miguel Couceiro Pizarro Beleza - Manuel Pereira - Arlindo Marques da Cunha - Luís Fernando Mira Amaral - Joaquim Martins Ferreira do Amaral.
Promulgated on 9 April 1991.
Let it be published.
The President of the Republic, MÁRIO SOARES.
Sanctioned on 12 April 1991.
The Prime Minister, Aníbal António Cavaco Silva.
ANNEX I
Staff list (article 19)
(see original document)
ANNEX II
Functional contents
(see original document)
Map mentioned in paragraph 2b) of article 2 of Decree-law no. 41/84 of 3 February.
(see original document)
