Marcelo expects concrete proposals for justice reform “without revenge”

This Friday, the President of the Republic considered it necessary for justice reform to be based on concrete proposals in specific areas and warned that it could not constitute “revenge” in a process determined by concrete facts.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa spoke to journalists at the Belém Cultural Centre after being asked about the recent positions of Justice Minister Rita Alarcão Judice, who has argued that changes are needed in the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), and the presence of the PSD/CDS-PP and PS Governments promoting reform in the justice sector, especially in the criminal sector.

The head of state did not comment on the minister’s position, but spoke about a possible justice reform based on political understanding in the Assembly of the Republic.

“There are two very important tasks that need to be done, the first of which is to work on very specific ideas. Anyone who wants justice reform must come up with very specific proposals, otherwise, if there is a general debate about reform, it turns into a political throwing weapon,” he warned.

Secondly, according to the head of state, “there cannot be a feeling that justice reform is being carried out taking into account the convenience of each moment.”

“In the times to come, in this and other areas, it is essential that there is dialogue between the parties – dialogue for better justice, not against anyone, dialogue that is not revenge for something, determined by specific facts. It should be determined by problems that really need to be corrected or that are not working properly,” he stressed.

The President of the Republic began by recalling that, in the first year of his mandate, he had put forward the idea of ​​a justice pact, which “was celebrated by the supporters of justice, albeit small and strict, and then partially implemented”.

“Today, something different is needed, which requires mutual understanding between political forces. When we talk about justice reform, it covers very different realities, and it is impossible to deal with all of them at the same time,” he said.

When asked whether he believes there is a lack of transparency in justice, the head of state replied that communication in this area “is very difficult, because there are thousands of decisions – and it is difficult to find a mechanism (even using computer media) to have information about justice on a constant basis.” basis to keep pace with the pace of development of society.”

“For a long time, supporters of the sector have recognized that one of the challenges is the timely delivery of justice. It is not only about dispensing justice in a timely manner, but also about communicating justice in a timely manner. The main thing is to see what can be done in a particular case.” , he asserted.

As an example, the head of state then indicated that it is necessary to see cases where the state order for work “reduces the time frame, but guarantees transparency, making the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan more effective.”

“Or we need to analyze specific issues in a criminal investigation, namely, what can be improved in the judicial decision. This is more important than suddenly creating a discussion about justice, when some on the one hand say that we must change, and others on the other hand say that this is an attack on justice and that the justice of political sectors must be protected. If we get involved in this, there will be no justice reform,” the head of state warned.

When asked whether the Republic’s next attorney general should have more opportunities to communicate with citizens, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa simply replied: “This is a problem that it is time to solve.”