“It calls into question the respect of principles such as equality and proportionality, guaranteeing the exercise of certain rights, self-regulation and democratic nature of professional associations, all of which are provided for in the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic.”
The legal uncertainties and uncertainties that came to light on February 1, which led the President of the Republic to request “the preventive review of the constitutionality by the Constitutional Court (TC) of the Decree of the General Assembly of the Republic to amendments to the legislation on professional associations and access to certain regulated professions” were reversed this Monday afternoon by the TC, which “did not find any constitutional principles or norms disrespected, and therefore made no pronouncements as to the unconstitutionality of any of the provisions inspected”.
The decree, which was adopted in a general final vote on December 22, with favorable votes from PS, Iniciativa Liberal and PAN, votes against from PSD, Chega and PCP and abstentions from BE and Livre, and which resulted from bills from PS and PAN, will are now declared “immediately” by Marcelo, as soon as he receives the communication from the TC.
For the President of the Republic, this decision “it means that [o TC] gave the green light to the majority of parliament and the government to make the intended intervention in terms of the new regimeof the professional orders. “There were 18 or 19 professional orders,” the president justified, “who understood that the diploma was very unconstitutional, the government understood the opposite, as did the majority of the Assembly of the Republic, nothing like the TC to to clarify that “. Legal “certainty and security” guaranteed, “this means that upon arrival of the TC communication, I immediately declare the diploma,” guaranteed Marcelo.
António Costa, two weeks after Marcelo sent this diploma to the TC, said that the reform of the professional orders system was “absolutely essential for the liberalization of the economy” and “to free the economy from the business constraints that orders traditionally entail in access to professions, access to economic activity, transparency in how they exercise their regulatory powers for regulated professions”. For him, sending to the TC was one of the “perils” out there that the government must continue to “adjust the pace of compliance” with the PRR, to “make sure everything is ready on time.” time”.
“That does not correspond to the truth,” was the response of the National Council of Professional Orders (CNOP), which rejects this justification for the revision of the legal regime of orders due to PRR requirements.
Discussion of the amendments to the new diploma scheme sparked controversy until the last moment of the parliamentary debate, with the PSD insisting to the end that one of the government’s aims, with the support of the PS in parliament, was to to put an end to professional orders and inconveniences that the presidents might cause.
The president of the CNOP considered that the law amending the regulation of professional orders, despite being declared constitutional, it is “inappropriate” for the role and functioning of those institutions.
“The decision of a sovereign body like the TC must be respected, but the law is inappropriate. This is our position,” stressed António Mendonça, adding that the CNOP will “take stock of the situation” in the coming days, after “analyzing” and “Consider” the TC’s decision.
One of the possibilities, guarantees the president of the Order of Physicians, find “other alternatives” to challenge the new law on professional associations. “We are obviously not going to give up, regardless of the position made public by the TC”assured Miguel Guimarães, for whom with the new law, in terms of self-regulation, “orders lose the essence for which they were created”.
The president of the Order of Nurses, on the other hand, believes that “orders cannot be forced to have in their bodies that decide on disciplinary procedures for their professionals people outside the professionO”.
Ana Rita Cavaco recalls that the “communication that came from Brussels on the use of the recovery and resilience plan, exclusively and exclusively” had to do with the barriers to access to regulated professions and traineeships.
“What the PS did was take advantage of this warning to intervene in professional orders, with the issue of the regulator, by wanting to bring outsiders to justice.
“How am I going to let people from other professions judge here whether a nurse has made a mistake?”, Ana Rita Cavaco wondered.
Source: DN
