Supreme Court Chief Justice (STJ) Enrique Araujo warned on Thursday of the risks of possible interference by political authorities that could jeopardize the independence and functioning of the courts.
“I see on the near horizon the creation of conditions conducive to legislative adventures that could threaten the independence of the courts and the normal functioning of the justice system,” the judge said, considering the weakening of judicial structures “deadly to democracies.” .
In a speech delivered at the inauguration ceremony of Judge Graça Amaral’s advisor as vice-president of the STJ, Enrique Araújo pointed to “obvious signs of wear and tear” in democratic countries, thus believing that the judicial system must be efficient and immune to “attempts of illegal intrusion or creating conditions on the part of political power.”
“I hope that Portugal will not make the mistake of undertaking ill-considered judicial reforms that will call into question the principle of separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary,” the STJ President emphasized.
According to Enrique Araújo, democratic countries face a number of threats, such as the degradation of ethics and integrity, the normalization of lies, “communication madness”, the lack of accountability of leaders or the weakening of public institutions, and ensure that justice must ensure “the constitutional values and principles that shape democratic law supremacy”.
The STJ President also emphasized that legislative changes with implications for justice are noticeable in a number of European countries – starting with Hungary in 2012, continuing in Poland, as well as France, Italy and Spain – and increasingly moving closer to Portugal, based on “ effective campaigns.” discredit justice,” which leads to conditioning of judges and courts.
Enrique Araújo’s speech comes in a context in which several politicians have defended the need for reforms in the justice system following the revelation of the “Operation Influential Man” process, which on November 7 led to the arrest of Antonio Costa’s chief of staff, Vitor Escaria, from lawyer and consultant Diogo Lacerda Machado , Start Campus administrators Afonso Salema and Rui Oliveira Neves, as well as the mayor of Sines, Nuno Mascarenhas.
Also accused are former infrastructure minister João Galamba, Portuguese Environment Agency president Nuno Lacasta, lawyer João Thiago Silveira and the company Start Campus.
Prime Minister António Costa, who was apparently linked to the case, was the subject of an investigation launched in the STJ parliament, a situation that led to his resignation and the President of the Republic calling early elections for March 10.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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