Legal Regime-Foundations - General Secretariat of the Presidency

The foundation is a non-profit-making legal person with sufficient and irrevocably assigned assets for the pursuit of an aim of social interest.

Social interest objectives are those which result in the benefit of one or more categories of persons other than the founder, his relatives and the like, or of persons or entities linked to him by friendship or business relationships, in particular those listed in Article 3(2) of the Framework Law on Foundations — Law No 24/2012 of 9 June 2009, as amended by Law No 150/2015 of 10 September 2009, which develops the principles and rules governing foundations.

The system of recognition of a foundation established in the Autonomous Region of the Azores is laid down in Regional Legislative Decree No 51/2006/A of 12 December 2009.

Thus, under Article 1(1) of that law, it is for the President of the Regional Government to recognise foundations established in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, within the meaning of Articles 158 (2) and 188 of the Civil Code, irrespective of the objectives pursued, and the departments of the Presidency are responsible for investigating the entire recognition procedure (Article 2(2)).

Renewal of the Public Utility Status — Foundations

In the terms of Law No 24/2012 of 9 June 2006, as amended by Law 150/2015 of 10 September 2012, in the case of foundations, public benefit status is granted for a period of 5 years, starting from the act of granting or confirming it, which may be renewed, for equal and successive periods, upon submission of an application for renewal.