Expo 98 – On the Procedure of World Expositions

Abstract

The transformations that have taken place in the second half of the present century have had a particular impact on administrative law, further intensified by the process of Portugal’s integration into the European Union. In addition to providing an overall approach to these transformations, addressing both their causes and their main effects, this paper analyses the legal solution adopted to support the Lisbon World Exposition of 1998, marked by the singularity and complexity inherent to the event.

In this context, the legislative “distortions” that were introduced are described and discussed, namely the exceptional powers granted to the company Parque Expo, S.A., which were necessary to achieve both the specific objectives of the Exposition and those defined for the urban and environmental rehabilitation of a vast area of Lisbon, ensuring conditions of efficiency and speed in the process.