Mário João Fernandes

Of Counsel | Lisbon

Practice Areas
Competition, Regulatory and EU
Public and Environment
Industries
Projects & Structured Finance
Defence and Homeland Security
Environment
Languages
  • English
  • French
  • Spanish
  • Italian
Contacts

Mário João Fernandes is an Of Counsel and has been at Abreu Advogados since 2014, working primarily on public law with a particular focus on legislative procedure, regulatory production and negotiation of regulatory regimes (domestic law, EU law, international negotiations), as well as on the statutory design of complex legal regimes (organic laws, coordination of central, regional and local competencies, public-private partnerships, concessions, regulated economic activities). He has also been involved in matters related to market regulation, competition, public procurement and foreign investment, having participated in some of the most significant restructuring operations of multinational groups in Portugal. He has participated in several international arbitrations on foreign investment (ICSID and ICC).

Mário João Fernandes was Legal Advisor at the Portuguese delegation to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (DELNATO) in Brussels (2007-2012); Coordinator for European Affairs at the Office of the Minister of Justice, where he was responsible for the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Representative of the Minister of Justice before the Group of the Future of Justice where he was responsible for drafting the contribution to the future Stockholm Programme for the area of Freedom, Justice and Security; liaison officer for the area of Justice with the Vice-President of the European Commission – Commissioner Franco Frattini (2007-2008).

He was also a consultant in Brussels in the areas of environment, energy, public markets, telecommunications and law and internal matters (2006); Principal Technical Counselor at the Permanent Representation of Portugal at the European Union in Brussels and was in charge of the area of the Environment (2002-2005); Legal Advisor to the Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning (1999- 2002); Legal Advisor to the Secretary of State of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (1998-1999); Legal Advisor to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs (1997-1998); Expert in the interministerial working group for the restructuring of the maritime authority system created by Resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 185/96, of 28 de November (1997-1998) and Legal Advisor of the Minister of the Presidency (1996-1997).

He has maintained a strong connection to education. He was a teaching assistant at the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Law teaching Constitutional Law I and II, International Public Law I and II, and Political Sciences (1992-2001). He was also the editor of the Legal magazine of the Academic Association of the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Law (1995-2002), and is currently teaching at the Institute of Legal and Political Sciences at the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Law.

Experience

Drafting legal opinions in response to consultations in the areas of constitutional, administrative, public international, maritime and environmental law since 1992;

Brussels-based consultancy activity, with emphasis on monitoring legislative procedures before the European institutions (2013);

Advising one of the finalists in reprivatization process: European air transportation market and State aids;

Advising a waste management entity on the opening of the packaging and packaging waste market: possible abuse of dominant position by the historic incumbent;

Advising the entity managing the two Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) existing in the National Energy System: regulation of the sector, interpretation of the PPA, state aid contours, arbitration;

Legal advice to a supplier in the Ministry of National Defence's most important public contract of this century;

Advising on a 6GW offshore wind energy project in Portugal, valued at EUR 10 billion;

Advising a major energy producer in the Portuguese market on its relationship with the Energy Services Regulator;

Advising the National Fuel Market Entity (ENMC, now ENSE, Portugal): liberalisation of the liquid fuels market, tankage and pipelines legal regimes;

Advising the privatization programme of the Government of a Portuguese-speaking country;

Risk analyses in situations of historical pollution for environmental liability purposes;

Drafting of legislative proposals for various Governments on emissions trading, waste management, drinking water quality and wastewater management;

Advice on the legal regime for atmospheric emissions of the second largest Portuguese exporter.

Associations

Academic

Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Lisboa

Law degree (1992)

Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Lisboa

Master in Law and Legal Science - Legal and Environmental Sciences (2023)