Court holds no court fee applies to a criminal appeal by a client denied judicial assistance.

The Tribunal da Relação do Porto ruled unanimously that a court fee is not required for a criminal appeal filed by a party who previously received judicial assistance. The appellant argued that since they were denied judicial assistance in the first instance, they should not be charged fees for appealing that denial. The court decided that the specific statutory provisions exempting the appellant from fees in the initial proceedings extend to their subsequent appeal, thereby waiving the financial barrier.