PR declares respect for TC and remembers that he voted and taught the Constitution

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, this Wednesday expressed respect for the decisions of the Constitutional Court, recalling that he voted in favor of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic as a deputy and that he taught it as a university professor.

The head of state spoke to journalists in the former royal riding school, next to the Belém Palace, in Lisbon, about the comment of the Judge-Rapporteur of the judgment of the Constitutional Court on death with medical assistance, Maria Benedita Urbano, on her request for preventive check.

In his explanation of vote Maria Benedita Urbano considered that the President of the Republic “had not added any specific motivation” regarding some of the standards it has submitted for preventive constitutionality review and commented: “If behind the explicit and explicit request of the President of the Republic there is a subliminal message, a hidden request, it certainly does not fall within the competence of this Court to carry out guesswork”.

Questioned about these observations by Judge Maria Benedita Urbano, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa began by stating that “the president respects the decisions of the Constitutional Court” and that “what the court says is said, it is sovereign and must be accepted and respected”.

“Besides being president of the republic, who has to be very impartial in these matters, I am a professor of constitutional law, I voted for the constitution, I taught the constitution for a long time. What I’ve known for 40 years or so, that this the right position,” he added.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he has instituted preventive inspections “very few times” since assuming leadership of the state and confirmed he intends to do it again this Wednesday in connection with the parliamentary decree that legalized regime of associations changes professional public.

“The court is right, it is right, it is not correct, it is not correct. For me the following is fundamental: that it is clear in terms of certainty and security what the position of the Constitutional Court is,” he stated.