The dissolution of the Assembly of the Republic, which should take place on January 15, puts an end to any process of dismissal of the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, for possible crimes of political responsibility related to the case of the two Portuguese-Brazilian twins who received treatments worth four million euros, funded by the National Health Service, for spinal muscular atrophy. This is because a trial against the head of state for crimes committed in the exercise of his duties implies that Parliament is fully functional, which will not happen again until about a month after the March 10 parliamentary elections.
Article 130 of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic provides that the President of the Republic is responsible before the Supreme Court for crimes committed in the exercise of his functions, as would be the case for an action deemed unlawful by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. the case that motivated him to make a statement to the media on Monday. However, to get this process off the ground, it would be necessary for one-fifth of the alternates to submit a proposal to this effect and for two-thirds to approve such deliberation, in both cases including the full alternates.
All constitutionalists interviewed by DN agree that this cannot happen from the moment the dissolution of the Assembly of the Republic will maintain only the standing committee, with representatives of the parties that held mandates in the legislature that is about to to end. the proposal and deliberation would have to wait a few more months until those elected in the next parliamentary elections take office. Which means in practice that the decision to dissolve the Assembly of the Republic, taken by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, eliminates for the time being the possibility of a process that would be unprecedented in Portuguese democracy.
“There are already some conversations underway questioning whether this is a coincidence, as the TVI investigation started days before the Prime Minister’s resignation,” said Vitalino Canas. On November 7, when António Costa communicated his decision to the President of the Republic and the Portuguese, after learning that he could be tried by the Supreme Court, TVI had already mentioned the alleged influence of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in the treatment who received the twins in 2019 at Santa Maria Hospital – in addition to the drug Zolgensma, which is one of the most expensive in the world, they were entitled to special wheelchairs for the consequences of spinal muscular atrophy -, but the constitutionalist rejects what he describes as “conspiracy theories ‘ and speaks of an ‘unfortunate coincidence’.
For Vitalino Canas, there will immediately be a “clear limitation” for the Assembly of the Republic to make decisions on a dismissal process that has never taken place since 1976, interpreting that the powers of the Standing Committee can never influence decisions on the dismissal of the President of the Republic.
Only the next Parliament will be able to decide, at the beginning of the parliamentary term following the elections on March 10, 2024, what can be submitted by the Attorney General of the Republic to the next President of the Assembly of the Republic. “Deputies have no powers in criminal investigations. There will have to be strong evidence,” he says, noting that even then the initiative will not be mandatory, and it may not be possible to muster a fifth of the parliamentarians willing to serve. the first step. There would be 46, while the two-thirds needed to approve the impeachment would imply 153 votes in favor.
The need for a qualified majority to allow a case against the President of the Republic to proceed to the Supreme Court is indicated by Carlos Blanco de Morais as a reason why dismissal would be extremely unlikely even if the investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office it would turn out that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was in charge. “There is no chance of approval by two-thirds. I have the greatest doubts that the PSD would approve it,” he says, anticipating that this would only happen in an “open clash with the president.” In any case, he agrees that the dismissal of the Assembly of the Republic will halt any immediate development.
Teresa Violante also rules out that the Permanent Commission can make any decision on a possible trial of the President of the Republic by the Supreme Court, if the Public Prosecutor’s Office concludes that there are sufficient elements to initiate a criminal investigation, since there is no quorum of alternates in the performance of the functions provided for in the Constitution.
Ongoing investigation
The opening of an investigation into the twins’ case has already been confirmed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, taking place at the Investigation and Criminal Justice Department in Lisbon, while the Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Norte, to which Santa Maria Hospital belongs, announced an audit which also includes the decision. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said on Monday that, after receiving an email from his son, Nuno Rebelo de Sousa, president of the Brazil-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce, stating that the children’s parents had contacted the Hospital de Santa Maria, without receiving a response, sent this message to her Civil House and to her Social Affairs advisor. Later, the Presidency of the Republic sent documentation to the Chiefs of Staff of the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for the Portuguese Communities, then called José Luís Carneiro. In his communications with journalists, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was adamant when asked about his ability to continue in his role. He responded with “obviously.”
As for the likelihood of a dismissal lawsuit, Teresa Violante admits it is unlikely. “I honestly don’t believe it. If there were a less compliant performance, it would hardly be due to the President of the Republic,” says the constitutionalist.
“I have argued that this must be addressed in a sensible way, because we are talking about a regime issue,” concludes Vitalino Canas.
Steps of the process that never happened
Parliament initiative
Given the evidence collected by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of crimes committed by the President of the Republic in the exercise of his office (other types of crimes can only be tried at the end of the term of office), at least one fifth of the sitting deputies must initiate to have the case assessed, but before the accusation can be formulated, a deliberation must take place in the Assembly of the Republic with a majority of two-thirds of the sitting parliamentarians, as in the case of constitutional revisions.
Supreme takes over the judgement
The task of the Supreme Court, like a court of instance, is to conduct the trial for crimes committed in the exercise of their functions by the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and the President of the Assembly of the Republic . Each of them would put forward their defense and try to refute the prosecution’s arguments.
Immediate consequences
If there is a conviction decision, the President of the Supreme Court must immediately send a certificate to the Constitutional Court. This body meets in plenary the following day and declares the President of the Republic dismissed, while the President of the Assembly of the Republic continues to act in an interim capacity. Conviction also implies the impossibility of re-election.
Source: DN
