On Thursday 21 March, Parliament approved the Law on Surveys and Aerial Cinematography for Civilian Purposes by consensus, giving the Minister of Defence the power to authorise the use of drones by national and foreign companies.
According to a document quoted by Lusa, “it is up to the minister who oversees the area of National Defence to authorise the execution of surveys and aerial cinematography in national territory. The law establishes that the original films or acquired data resulting from the execution of aerophotographic coverage in the country by the private sector and foreign companies constitute state property”.
“In the event of infringements of the impositions contained in the law, penalties are imposed such as retention of the aircraft, fines and a temporary ban on carrying out aerial surveys in national territory, and civil or criminal liability for the offender is not ruled out,” he explained.
The rule will still have to be approved in detail by the Portuguese Parliament before being sent to the President of the Republic for promulgation and then published in the Official Gazette for entry into force.
Recently, the Minister of National Defence, Cristóvão Chume, said that the lack of a rule on the subject was allowing drones to fly uncontrolled over military operations areas and barracks.
“With this bill, we’ll have an opportunity to say how things should happen and who should do it, as well as to regulate the use of drones, placing the appropriate limits on the use of this type of device and other aerial vehicles for capturing information,” he stressed.
The minister assured that the future law would respect citizens’ fundamental rights, including freedom of the press, with the exception of restrictions imposed by situations such as a state of emergency.
“Places such as the Defence and Security Forces, the Presidency of the Republic, the Assembly of the Republic, airports and public events without authorisation for overflights will be legally protected from the use of these devices,” he added.
Cristóvão Chume emphasised that the future regulation will allow investments to be made so that information gathered by aerial vehicles for economic purposes can be processed within the country.
“Investment is needed in national institutions so that, little by little, we can reduce the possibility of resorting to foreign companies in the area of cartography,” he emphasised.
