The Ministry of Justice reacts with concern to the manifesto and points the finger at the PS

The Ministry of Justice said this Friday that it is “very concerned” about the situation in which the PS government has left the area, highlighting strikes in the sector, a shortage of judges and court workers, and poor conditions in the courts.

In a comment sent to Lusa on a manifesto signed by 50 figures from different walks of life in defense of a “civil coup” that would put an end to the “troubling inertia” of political agents regarding justice reform, the Rita Yudice Ministry points the finger at the previous leader and says that he “is making every effort to try to solve these problems from the first minute.”

“The Ministry of Justice is very concerned about the situation in which the previous government left the justice system. The strikes that have been going on for 15 months. The shortage of judges. The shortage of bailiffs. Courts where it rains.” , refers to the comment.

In a brief description of the sector, the ministry also highlights the degradation of prisons and believes that over the past eight years there has been a “lack of investment” in the justice sector, which has had a negative impact “on all citizens and companies.”

A group of 50 figures from different backgrounds on Thursday called on the President of the Republic, the government and the parliament to come up with initiatives that, while respecting the independence of the courts, the autonomy of the public ministry and the guarantees of judicial protection, will be resolved. “bottlenecks and dysfunctions that have long undermined its effectiveness and public legitimacy.”

The petition was signed, in particular, by former parliamentary chairmen Augusto Santos Silva, Ferro Rodríguez and Mota Amaral, former PSD and CDU leaders Rui Rio and Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos, former ministers Leonor Belesa, David Justino, Fernando Negrao, António Vitorino, José Vieira da Silva , António Barreto, Correia de Campos, Alberto Costa, Pinto Ribeiro, Maria de Lourdes Rodríguez and former President of the Constitutional Court João Kaupers.

The document was also signed by Admiral Melo Gomes and General Pinto Ramalho, former Governor of the Bank of Portugal Vitor Constancio and Judge-Counselor Teresa Pizarro Beleza, as well as Isabel Soares, Manuel Sobrinho Simoes, Alvaro Beleza and Social Democrats Paulo Mota Pinto, Andre Coelho. Lima and Pacheco Pereira.

“Long-term passivity in the face of this unjust reality allowed us to reach a painful limit when the actions of the prosecutor’s office led to the fall of two parliamentary majorities as a result of recent elections, despite the fact that in both cases, in their first intervention, the courts did not support and even refuted the version accuser,” they say.

“To make matters worse, the country continued to witness the unthinkable when, after a long five months elapsed between the resignation of the Prime Minister following the PGR statement and the termination of his powers, the prosecutor’s office did not even deign to inform him of the subject of the investigation and did not summon him to any legal proceedings . These episodes not only constitute an undue interference with political power, but also fail to meet the requirements of a democratic rule of law,” they argue.

Among the identified problems, subscribers name “periodic violations of judicial secrecy with the active participation of a significant part of the media,” which “give rise to people’s courts, boycott the investigation and grossly violate the most basic rights of many citizens.” , severely punishing them for the rest of their lives, even if they are ultimately acquitted in court.”

“What is needed is reform that, while not ignoring the legitimate aspirations of the judiciary, is not designed to cater to the corporate interests of the various operators of the system, but that puts citizens and the protection of the democratic rule of law at the center.” the axis of his concerns,” they say.