“Nor have the flaws and violations reported decreased, nor have political forces and institutions, despite some signs of understanding the seriousness of the situation, taken concrete steps towards the necessary reform,” states a civic movement established in May 2024.
In a new manifesto released today, titled “Justice Reform is Urgent” and signed by 11 figures from various sectors, the Manifesto of the 50 warns that the situation has worsened in several areas.
“Cases have been known for years involving the use of the most intrusive means in the personal freedom sphere without credible suspicion, and selective leaks to the press continue, resulting in summary public opinion condemnations of defenseless individuals,” they illustrate.
Highlighting the deterioration of the state of Justice, the signatories also refer to unresolved processes involving former government officials and political agents, the pronounced “inoperability of administrative courts,” the “unacceptably high” economic cost of accessing justice, or the persistence of “signs of closure, corporatism, and inefficiency hampering institutional action.”
“Justice remains in poor condition and political leaders are paralyzed,” they lament, reaffirming, warning that “the state of justice necessarily and negatively impacts the quality of our democracy.”
They describe a slow Justice system where consumed resources do not reflect in achieved results, where access inequalities persist, and where violations of citizens’ rights, freedoms, and guarantees multiply, justifying the renewed appeal for reform.
Addressing parliamentary groups, they urge that justice reform be established as a fundamental priority and call upon the President of the Republic, Government, and parliament “to firmly and fully exercise the powers entrusted to them by the Constitution and laws.”
In the new manifesto, they also urge justice institutions to “exercise their leadership responsibilities independently, duly inform the public, and ensure the legality and timeliness of processes.”
The text is signed by former parliament presidents Augusto Santos Silva and Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, former PSD leader Rui Rio, former ministers David Justino, Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues, socialist Maria Manuel Leitão Marquês, social democrats Mónica Quintela and Paulo Mota Pinto, former Constitutional Court judge Vital Moreira, and lawyers Daniel Proença de Carvalho and Rui Silva Leal.
