The first phase of the ongoing constitutional revision process is coming to an end, the comparative reading phase of the eight bills submitted (one for each party with a parliamentary seat). For now, it was only time for the discussion of the articles presented, and the second phase is expected to begin in September, this one already with votes.
At that time, the parties will be able to start submitting proposals to amend their initiatives or the text of other banks, but only in the articles that were the subject of proposals in the first phase, will not be able to “move” in new articles . Initially, 393 proposals were submitted by the eight parties to amend, repeal and add articles to the Basic Law. The first constitution of democracy was approved in 1976 and this is the 12th revision process. If successfully completed, it will be the eighth revision of the Constitution, almost 20 years after the previous amendment (2005) and more than a decade after the last major attempt to amend it (2010/2011), which failed due to the dissolution of parliament.
Despite being at the end of the first phase, the process is currently far from over and, in fact, threats of breakage have already been heard. The PSD has warned that if it is just to change what the PS wants in the fundamental law, it will not bring the necessary agreement and the revision will be on its way again. This message was recently endorsed by President Luís Montenegro: “There will only be a constitutional review when it comes to changing some things in the constitution, not just changing what the PS wants. The PSD will not give the PS constitutional freebies”.
In November last year, the General Secretary of the PS, António Costa, immediately “closed” the scope of a revision that the PSD wanted more broadly by announcing that the Socialists would reject proposals on institutional matters, claiming that this discussion would become incomprehensible to citizens in a context of war in Europe. Costa also refused any consensus on changes to regional autonomy – an issue on which the PSD has many proposals – arguing that it would be disrespectful to the work being done in the legislative assemblies of the Azores and Madeira. the future, an extraordinary constitutional review process on this issue. The socialist leader and prime minister immediately demarcated the process into three areas: deepening and consolidating fundamental rights, strengthening the state and resolving “indispensable” security issues, namely the fight against terrorism and pandemics.
The chairman of the final commission, the Social Democrat José Silvano, expects that the works will not last beyond 2023, as the extension of the works until the end of the year has already been approved in plenary. The final commission had already had two chairmen appointed by the PSD: first Joaquim Pinto Moreira, who resigned when his name was involved in the “Operação Vórtex” judicial investigation, and then José Silvano, former secretary general of the PSD in the previous leadership by Rui Rio.
where there is agreement
health emergency
PS and PSD were the only two parties that agreed to include deprivation of liberty for serious and contagious patients in the Constitution, even without the state of emergency, while the remaining parties believed that the current legal framework should be preserved. Both parties choose to add in the article regulating the right to liberty and security (27e) a new exception to the current norms that already allow deprivation of liberty, albeit with different wordings, which manifest themselves in order to arrive at a common text .
Metadata
PS and PSD agreed that intelligence agencies should have access to communications context data, noting that this is unrelated to recent issues related to the unconstitutionality of the law governing the use of metadata in criminal investigations. The coordinators of the two parties, Pedro Delgado Alves (PS) and André Coelho Lima (PSD), stressed that the current constitutional review will only decide whether or not the intelligence services should have access to this context data (which may include traffic information information). or location of equipment, but not the content of the communication). In this article, on House immunity and correspondence, PS and PSD have different wording, but are available for convergence, and of the remaining parties, only Chega has expressed a willingness to support change.
Animal welfare
The parties agreed to enshrine the promotion of animal welfare in the constitution to try to overcome various declarations of the unconstitutionality of the animal cruelty law. Specifically, the intention is to amend Article 66 on the environment and quality of life, with the PS proposing the promotion of animal welfare as a state responsibility, and the BE creating an autonomous article on this subject, which would have the general agreement of the other parties. In January, the Public Prosecutor’s Office called for the unconstitutionality of the standard that punishes with a fine or prison anyone who kills or mistreats pets without a legitimate reason.
(with Lusa)
Source: DN
