The court officials’ strike has already postponed more than 21,000 trials and inspections.

The strike of court officials has already resulted in the postponement of more than 21,000 reviews and decisions in the courts and prosecution services (PPO) since it began on 15 February.

A survey conducted by Lusa among the 23 existing districts in Portugal shows that the number of judgments and inspections that had to be postponed due to the struggle of the Union of Judicial Officers (SFJ) is 21,370, with a focus on the Porto region. where 4,184 checks were postponed between February 15 and March 17, about 20% of the national total.

This is followed by the neighboring area of ​​Porto Este, in which 3,000 postponements were reported during the first month of the strike, in which the SFJ states as a matter of priority the inclusion of a procedural addition in time, in addition to issues related to admission and training competitions, career unfreezing , the wage scale and the problem of staff shortages.

The weight of the strikes was more pronounced in the north, with 2,994 postponements of judgments and inspections (2,396 in the judiciary and 598 in relation to a deputy) recorded in the Braga region between 15 February and 20 March.

In Aveiro, the strike has already delayed 1,572 steps (February 15 to March 10). The effects of the strike were more clearly felt during the weeks of Feb. 27 to March 3 (431 events postponed) and March 6 to 10 (412), but the weekly report on the impact of the strike in this region also mentions that 241 steps were postponed from 15 to February 17, 263 from February 20 to 24 and 225 from March 13 to 17.

More than a thousand delays since the start of the strike also occur in areas of Lisbon, where there were 1,501 until March 12; Lisbon West (Sintra, Cascais, Amadora, Oeiras and Mafra), where at least 1,391 postponements were recorded (February 15 to March 17); and Viseu, whose geographical area covers the territory of 17 municipalities, where 1013 trials (judicial court and deputy) were postponed from February 15 to March 12 due to a procedural strike issued by the SFJ, however, extended for another month (until April 15).

The Setúbal region indicated the postponement of 983 inspections until 17 March; Faro recorded 890 postponements (February 15 to March 10); Santarém had at least 694 people between 13 February (the date when only the daytime strike called by the Union of Bailiffs, SOJ) was in effect and 14 March; and Leiria noted 421 between January 10 and March 10, being the only one to provide data that also covers the stop set by SOJ.

This is followed by the districts of Madeira (375 and only from the judiciary), Viana do Castelo (365, total indicated SFJ from February 15 to March 13), Vila Real (352 from February 17 to March 17), Lisbon. North (336 tests between 15 February and 14 March), Castelo Branco (319 tests between 15 February and 18 March), Coimbra (297 divided into 132 tests and 165 other tests between 15 February and 14 March ), March), Azores (179 from February 15 to March 10), Évora (173 from February 15 to March 15), Guarda (161 from February 15 to March 17), Beja (81 to March 14), Braganca (80 , from February 15 to March 17) and finally Portalegre (nine, from February 15 to March 20).

In addition to the differences in reporting dates reported by the counties, there were also notable differences in the level of detail and in the forms of registration, communication, and understanding by magistrates regarding deferrals. Some reported only the total number of court decisions/examinations delayed due to the strike, while others reported weekly totals and some even stratified by type of action affected.

The total figures reported by the counties exceed the number of deferrals that SFJ itself identified last week, which pointed to about 15,000. A new meeting between the Ministry of Justice and the union is scheduled for this Thursday at 3:00 pm, while the opinion requested from the Attorney General’s Advisory Board on the legality of the strike is not yet known.