This stance was asserted by Hugo Soares following the PSD Parliamentary Group meeting, in response to the President of the Republic’s warning that he will scrutinize the constitutionality of the Government’s proposed laws.
“Regarding the constitutionality of the bills, it is clear that if we were not comfortable with their compliance with the Constitution, we would not have presented them. And we would not have advocated for them here in parliament,” replied the leader of the Social Democratic Party’s parliamentary group.
On Wednesday, in statements to journalists at the Citadel of Cascais, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa noted that four bills have already been submitted to parliament. These are related to the nationality law, the entry and stay regime of foreigners, the creation of a border unit within the PSP, and the IRS—an issue he singled out as requiring urgency—which corresponds to the priorities of the PSD/CDS-PP Government.
Without specifying any particular proposal, he stated that he “waits to see what the parliament decides” and the “first thing” he will do upon receiving the decrees is to examine if “there is any doubt of constitutionality.”
In response to the head of state’s position, the PSD parliamentary leader asserted: “We are confident they comply with all constitutional norms.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in the same statements to journalists, acknowledged that there might be “matters that are probably not patently unconstitutional” but for which “it is better for the Constitutional Court to decide once and for all because, otherwise, each court might have a different interpretation.”
“If that is the case, they will be sent to the Constitutional Court. If it is understood that there is no risk, doubt, or problem, they are not sent, and he promulgates,” he added.
According to the Constitution, the organic law format is required for diplomas that regulate the “acquisition, loss, and reacquisition of Portuguese citizenship,” meaning any changes to the nationality law must, in the final global vote, be approved by an absolute majority of the deputies in office, or 116 votes, which will require support from either the PS or Chega (in addition to PSD and CDS-PP, totaling 91 deputies).
