President of the Supreme Court warns that the eventual fall of the Government could “deathly wound” the court
The president of the Supreme Court of Justice (STJ) warned today of the consequences that a possible fall of the Government could have on the functioning of the court by postponing reforms considered necessary, appealing to the “democratic maturity” of politicians.
“I trust that a desirable democratic maturity of our political leaders will prevent, in the meantime, a third dissolution of the Assembly of the Republic from occurring in a short period of time, which, if it occurs, would once again postpone the much-needed set of reforms in the area of justice and would place this Supreme Court in the unprecedented situation of not having a minimum number of judges to ensure its regular functioning”, stated João Cura Mariano.
In a speech given at the inauguration ceremony of eight new advisory judges, the leader of the Supreme Court considered that the scenario of uncertainty regarding the feasibility of the next State Budget and the prospect of new early elections with a possible “lead” would lead to “a rude blow to the credibility of democratic institutions, in this case fatally wounding the Supreme Court of Justice”.
João Cura Mariano highlighted the pressure on the STJ regarding the constant renewal of the magistrates’ staff, by equating permanence in this instance “to the lifespan of a damselfly” or to “a counter in any public office” in which judges present the request for retirement shortly after arriving. In this sense, he announced that he has already sent the Government a proposal for changes with a view to “urgent rejuvenation”.
“It can only be achieved with an urgent legislative change to the rules for access to the Supreme Court of Justice which are set out in the Statute of Judicial Magistrates and, therefore, require the intervention of the Assembly of the Republic. A project has already been delivered to the Government which, through a considerable widening of the range of competitors, will allow judges of lower ages to join the Supreme Court’s staff”, he stressed.
Cura Mariano said that this “emergency situation” affects the quality of jurisprudence and that the Government views the proposed amendment “as an urgent priority”, soon converting it into a bill to be presented in parliament.
The president of the STJ also defended the review of the resources regime, noting that counselors spend too much time on “tasks typical of a secretariat or an advisory service and deciding issues devoid of any relevance that justifies their intervention”, pointing out the adoption of the execution of decisions after analysis by the first instance and the Courts of Appeal, also known as ‘double conformity’.
“The rhythm of modern societies does not tolerate the resolution of any conflict awaiting the lengthy processing and pronouncement of three distinct instances”, observed Cura Mariano, who stated that the appeal to the STJ must be limited to the standardization of divergent jurisprudence and to pronounce in cases with “exceptional legal or social relevance”.
Among the new counselors at the STJ are Anabela Luna de Carvalho, Cristina Coelho, Teresa Albuquerque, Carlos Lobo, Rui Machado e Moura, Luís Teixeira, Jorge Raposo and Orlando Nascimento, the judge who left the presidency of the Lisbon Court of Appeal in 2020 ( TRL) following Operation Lex for alleged irregularities in the distribution of cases and which remains under investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the STJ.
