The Portuguese Bar Association has launched a solidarity initiative to lessen the impact of rural wildfires and support victims across the country. A pool of around 500 volunteer lawyers will provide free legal assistance to citizens and businesses severely affected by the blazes.
According to Público, the Association said legal support is an “essential instrument” given the scale of the fires, which extend beyond material damage to also affect access to fundamental rights. Volunteers will offer “comprehensive legal assistance, from insurance and compensation issues to accessing public support,” the newspaper reported.
The Association stressed it is its “professional and social responsibility to place the legal resources of Portuguese advocacy at the service of the communities most in need,” according to an official statement published on its website.
The Bar Association has already notified the office of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, as well as the leader of the Social Democratic parliamentary group.
Government and municipalities asked to help deliver legal support
The Association has also requested cooperation from the Ministry of Internal Administration and the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP) to put the measure into practice. Speaking to Renascença, Bar President João Massano said the goal is to mobilise more than 500 volunteer lawyers, describing the target as realistic given the urgency of the situation.
He explained that the plan is to use the municipal network and the Bar Association’s regional offices to ensure direct legal support for affected communities, potentially under the coordination of the ministry led by Maria Lúcia Amaral.
The initiative comes in response to “one of the worst waves of wildfires in recent years,” which have destroyed around 139,000 hectares in just two weeks. As part of wider solidarity efforts, the legal support aims to ensure that “no citizen or business is left without qualified legal assistance,” the statement emphasised.
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