A Professional Order, also known as professional public association, is, in the Portuguese legal system, a public entity with an associative structure representing a profession that should be subject to control of access and exercise. The Order is also responsible for the elaboration of specific technical and deontological norms and has an autonomous disciplinary regime by imperative of tutelage, in the pursue of public interest.
General Principles
The establishment of professional Order is exceptional and can only take place when its purpose is to safeguard a public interest of particular importance that the State cannot directly ensure. Its creation must be adequate, necessary and proportionate to regulate the legal property to be protected, and to respect to professions that should be subject to it. All Orders are legal persons governed by public law and each regulated profession can only correspond to one Order. Nevertheless, the same Order may represent more than one profession, provided that they all have a common technical or scientific basis.
Under the law, the term Order is to be used only when the exercise of the regulated professions depends on the prior attainment of a bachelor's degree or higher. Should the profession depend on the attainment of any other degree, the association is to be called a Chamber.
Colleges, Mace-Bearers and Symbols
Orders can be internally subdivided into specialized colleges, which group different areas of expertise within the Profession. For example, the Order of Biologist has four specialized colleges that group four major fields: the College of Environment, the College of Biotechnology, the College of Education, and the College of Human Biology and Health. The President of an Order has the title of Mace-Bearer. In accordance to Portuguese Law, Orders are entitles to their symbols, chains of office and flags. Under these prerogatives, most Orders, namely the oldest ones have adopted as their symbols, coat or arms, such is the case of the: Order of the Medical Doctors, the Order of the Engineers, the Order of the Engineering Technicians, the Order of the Economists and the Order of the Veterinarians. The Order of the Nurses had adopted and heraldic badge, while the remaining Orders have adopted logos.
Legal Framework
The Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, under Article 267, establishes that Orders can only be incorporated to satisfy specific needs and that they cannot perform the functions of trade unions associations. Furthermore, their internal organization must be based on respect of the rights of its members and the democratic formation of their organs.
