A proposal by Chega to increase the budget allocation for the Constitutional Court, as requested by the institution during a parliamentary hearing, was tabled for discussion this morning. Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Carlos Abreu Amorim, opened the debate by asserting that the court “has the necessary resources to function optimally,” focusing the discussion on whether to create a new digital platform.
“The question is whether this parliament, particularly the Chega and PS factions, consider it appropriate, sensible, cordial, and in the interests of Justice to create a separate digital platform for the Constitutional Court. What the Constitutional Court requested, and what Chega and PS approved, was 750,000 euros to create an autonomous IT system,” he stated.
The minister argued that what is at stake is not a “one-off technical reinforcement,” but rather the creation of a “structural exception with permanent impact on future budgets” – as the implementation deadlines exceed 20 months – and a “technological island” for the Constitutional Court, which does not promote “agility and interoperability within the justice system.”
“We do not believe that producing separate platforms within the justice system is the best approach. On the contrary, it is planned obsolescence, unnecessarily doubling costs. In a word, it complicates matters,” he observed, calling on the opposition, “especially the parties with greater responsibility,” to reject this budget increase.
In response, Chega deputy Eduardo Teixeira argued that these are not “matters of lesser importance” and stressed the need to ensure the Constitutional Court has the necessary means to “fully and desirably fulfill its constitutional duties.”
The parliamentarian also stated that “the government’s lack of response to a sovereign body […] is unacceptable and forces the parliament to act and create operating conditions,” adding that the controversy was “absolutely unnecessary.”
The PS faction did not comment on the government’s appeals. On the left, Bloc’s Mariana Mortágua regretted the creation of a “war” over this budget, and Patricia Gonçalves, deputy of Livre, questioned why “time is being wasted” on this issue, given that it amounts to just 0.0006% of the State Budget.
Mário Amorim Lopes of IL supported the need for the budget, but emphasized that the Constitutional Court should assess “whether there are technical reasons justifying” this new electronic platform.
To conclude, Abreu Amorim reiterated: “What is at stake here is something different. And my appeal is for this parliament not to foster the creation of a technological island, a kind of digital architecture within the justice system, an Asterix village completely isolated from other higher courts and the rest of the justice system.”
This Wednesday, the parliament approved the increase in the Constitutional Court’s budget by 1.6 million euros, as proposed by Chega, thus acceding to the request made by the judges of the Palácio Ratton in a parliamentary hearing.
A proposal initially presented solely by the sole deputy of PAN, later supported by deputies Eurico Brilhante Dias of PS, Isabel Mendes Lopes of Livre, Paula Santos of PCP, Mariana Mortágua of BE, and Filipe Sousa of JPP, was also put to vote and rejected.
The chairman of the Finance Committee initially refused to admit it, but after almost an hour of discussion, the initiative was voted on and rejected.
