“The resolution of the various challenges identified within the justice system, which have persisted over recent years, is a primary goal of the PS’s political intervention,” reads a statement from the PS sent to the Lusa agency.
The PS unveils these 15 proposals on the occasion of the start of the judicial year, with the party led by José Luís Carneiro emphasizing that it is “urgent to find understandings among the main democratic political parties to implement reforms” in this sector.
The three pillars of this reform are the organization of the judicial system and the reform of the justice governance model, the qualification of the functioning and management of judicial administration, and procedural reforms.
Regarding the system’s organization, the PS aims to decentralize the competencies of the central bodies of the Ministry of Justice to the management bodies of the Judicial Districts, in addition to investing in digitalization and Artificial Intelligence tools.
The revision of the inspection and professional merit evaluation model for judges and magistrates “to allow effective performance differentiation based on objective criteria, such as the average duration of processes or the rate of decisions upheld on appeal” is another measure.
The PS also proposes to strengthen the control and evaluation mechanisms of the service quality provided by the judicial system and to review the Statute of the Court Officers, ensuring career enhancement.
In the pillar of qualifying the functioning of judicial administration, the socialists propose the reformulation of the judicial administrators’ statute and the creation of a new model for organizing and operating judicial offices “based on debureaucratized procedures and supported by technological tools.”
Strengthening the human and technical resources of judicial offices, introducing a management model for judicial offices, and organizing a “flexible, integrated, and shared management model for courtrooms in each district” are other measures proposed.
Finally, in the pillar of procedural reforms, the party led by José Luís Carneiro seeks to revise the access to justice system to ensure “effective access conditions for all citizens to defend their rights in courts,” as well as adopting “simplification and process acceleration mechanisms.”
The PS proposes to amend the criminal procedure system to balance “the speed of judicial decisions with the effective guarantee of citizens’ right to defense,” in addition to introducing aggravated penalties for procedural misconduct.
The socialists also aim for legislative changes in the procedural system of Administrative and Tax Courts “with the introduction of simplification mechanisms to control current procedural delays” and the improvement of the existing system of arbitral justice.
“The PS, therefore, advocates for the establishment of a Commitment to Justice, as well as the creation of a Justice Advisory Council, which will contribute to monitoring and implementing reforms in the judicial system, with participation from all sector agents, and debated transparently with citizens and their representatives,” they propose.
The PS’s goal with this reform is to ensure trust in the justice system, not disregard citizens’ guarantees, and to prevent and combat crime, “especially in its more complex forms” such as economic and financial crime, the scourge of corruption and related offenses, fraud, and tax evasion, in addition to improving the efficiency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and contributing to the country’s economic development.
