In the midst of the investigation of the case called “Operação Lex”, in which judges (former presidents of the Lisbon Court of Appeal) were accused of distorting the distribution of cases in order to favor defendants, including other judges, The Minister of Justice announced that he would not regulate two lawsapproved by the General Assembly and al published in the Diário da República (DR) for over a year, whose goal was precisely to avoid these situations of manipulation of the contests🇧🇷
“The ministry believes that there is room for improvement in this way. That is why it is working on an amendment that will be submitted to parliament,” said Catarina Sarmento e Castro in parliament in response to a perplexed deputy. Mónica Quintela, Justice Coordinator of the PSD Parliamentary Group (GP)🇧🇷
Contacted by DN, the The cabinet of the minister confirmed the intention: “Considering the objectives pursued by the legislative amendments and the concrete solutions offered therein, the government has assessed the possibility of revisiting some solutions translated into law, to strengthen the effective transparency of the procedure for the electronic distribution of processes that it intended to promote and in which the current government effectively sees itself”.
He added that “the government therefore continues to work hard to introduce as soon as possible the reinforced mechanisms for controlling the electronic distribution of judicial processes, which are considered essential for promoting the transparency and credibility of the justice system”.
Reliability of the relevant system
These are laws 55/2021 of August 13 and 56/2021 of August 16, resulting from PSD projects, which respectively introduce mechanisms for controlling the electronic dissemination of judicial proceedings and administrative and tax jurisdiction proceedings. They were approved in August last year by all parties except the PS who voted againstto (to with the exception of former deputy sheriff José Magalhãeswhich was before), issued by the President of the Republic, published in DR that same month and As of October 2021🇧🇷
Also asked the Presidency of the Republic what was the understanding of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa regarding laws issued by it that are not regulated, Belém did not respond in time for the close of this edition.
Among other things, these laws require all judges to be included on the list to be drawn (which was not always done); mandatory presence of the Public Prosecution Service; “where possible” the presence of a representative of the Bar Association (in the first instance) and, if the parties so wish, the legal representative in the higher courts; as well as the obligation to document the distribution transactions in the minutes”.
In explaining the reasons for his proposal, the Social Democratic general practitioner, in a natural response to the scandal that had shaken justice and which became the center of “Operation Lex”, he wrote: “The reliability of the electronic distribution system of judicial processes has been questioned in recent times and in more than one instance, because it allows the manipulation of drawings of the processes, which is not only serious, because questions the respect for the principle of natural justice, as it strongly undermines citizens’ confidence in justice for allowing a magistrate to be chosen to decide a particular case,” he wrote.
Got the diplomas 30 days to arrange and the former Minister of Justice, Francisca Van Dunem, has even signed an order, within that period, to kick-start this process, the appointment of the current Secretary of State for Justice, Jorge Costa (then Director General of the Administration of Justice) to coordinate the procedure. But nothing happened.
Minister “underhanded” with practices outside the law
All these steps were remembered by Mónica Quintela, during the hearing of Catarina Sarmento e Castro in parliament, last Monday. “What are you waiting for, Madam Minister?” he wondered, remembering that “the merchandising of justice is the most despicable imaginable”🇧🇷
Speaking to DN, Quintela qualified the announcement of the holder of the Justice portfolio as “very serious”. “This is the core of Operation Lex, that is, the current system allows the choice of judges for certain cases. Even in electronic distribution. It is very serious and the Minister of Justice said that she will not regulate the laws approved in the Assembly of the Republic and that she will submit a proposal different🇧🇷 It is unprecedented for a minister to say he refuses to regulate laws passed in the Assembly of the Republic. It’s terrible what’s happening! Even with Operation Lex underway and with all the public problems arising from the division of trials in the Operation Marquis🇧🇷
In her speech, opening the parliamentary hearing, Mónica Quintela also recalled the recent survey by the European Network of Councils of Justice, in which 26% of the 494 Portuguese judges surveyed believed that in the last three years there had been judges who, on an individual basis, basis, bribes or other forms of corruption; and 27% agreed that cases were handed out to judges in violation of rules or procedures🇧🇷
“Madam Minister has conspired to perpetuate these practices by not regulating the law. Maintaining this state of affairs encourages corrupt acts and goes against the express law passed in this House🇧🇷 Ms. Minister is publicly responsible for any processes that are not delivered in accordance with what has been approved here,” he stressed.
Source: DN
