This Monday, the President of the Assembly of the Republic proposed to parliamentary groups that the former Presidents of the Constitutional Court (CC) be heard at a leadership conference on Wednesday dedicated to freedom of expression for MPs and compatibility with possible “red lines”.
This initiative by José Pedro Aguiar-Branco is contained in a letter sent this Monday to the chairmen of the parliamentary groups and the PAN deputy, as well as to the “deputies” of the parliament and members of the commission on the agenda of the next meeting of the leadership conference.
According to his proposal, at the beginning of the leaders’ conference “the issue of the scope and limits of freedom of speech of respected deputies and their possible compatibility with the establishment of red lines will be considered.”
The issue that arose on Friday morning in plenary after Cega leader André Ventura mentioned the working possibilities of the Turkish people regarding the construction of the new Lisbon airport, which led to the BE, Livre and PS benches defending the intervention to the President of Parliament, to prevent such speech, which they consider “xenophobic”.
A letter sent to various parliamentary groups, to which the Luza agency had access, explains the reason for José Pedro Aguiar-Branco’s proposal to hear the former Presidents of the Assembly of the Republic at the conference.
“Given that the issue at hand is of particular importance and has consequences for the political system, it justifies a detailed analysis from a legal-constitutional point of view. Therefore (…) the President of the Assembly of the Republic is meant to be It is important to listen to the former Presidents of the Constitutional Court so that they can share their opinions and possible consequences, especially in a context in which respected deputies benefit from greater freedom of expression in the performance of their duties thanks to the institution parliamentary immunity.”
In particular, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco understands that the invitations should be addressed to José Manuel Cardoso da Costa, Rui Moura Ramos, Joaquim Sousa Ribeiro, Manuel da Costa Andrade and João Kaupers.
“The presence of these distinguished guests would be limited to a discussion of this item and for purely informational purposes, and the discussion would continue only in the presence of members of the leadership meeting,” the same note noted immediately afterwards.
The letter also emphasizes that the President of the Assembly of the Republic proposes to postpone the leadership conference on Wednesday to 10:00 “so as not to harm the work.”
Finally, we would appreciate a “reply by 7:00 pm today interpreting the silence” from the various benches “as acceptance of the motion.”
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.