The council, meeting in plenary on Wednesday, also decided to propose to the Minister of Justice the shortening of the internship periods for the 40th and 41st training courses at the Center for Judicial Studies, which trains judicial magistrates and public prosecutors, in order to “mitigate the consequences of the severe shortage of magistrates,” according to a note sent to Lusa.
The Ordinary Movement of Public Prosecutors, published on June 4 in the Diário da República, includes positions to be filled by prosecutors from September, in various departments and courts simultaneously.
The movement has been contested by the Union of Public Prosecutors (SMMP), which describes it as the “final nail” in their specialization of functions, as it includes positions that allow magistrates to perform duties in various departments and courts simultaneously, sometimes combining criminal, civil, and family and juvenile jurisdictions.
As a result, the union filed a complaint with the CSMP requesting the annulment of the movement and called a national two-day strike, which according to the SMMP saw a 90% adherence on Wednesday and concludes today. Additionally, three days of regional strikes are scheduled in Lisbon (on the 11th), Porto (on the 14th), and Évora and Coimbra (on the 15th).
The Prosecutor General’s Office has justified the decision by the need to “optimize existing resources” in a “context of acknowledged and notorious shortage of human resources.”
On Wednesday, the Minister of Justice, Rita Alarcão Júdice, rejected the idea of opening a special magistrates’ course to address the recognized shortage of magistrates but admitted the possibility of shortening the internship period for courses, as now proposed by the CSMP.
If this reduction is confirmed, according to the minister’s calculations, by January 2026, an additional 55 prosecutors will be in service, rather than by September, and in the following year, by January 2027, an additional 75 prosecutors will be in service, making a total of 130 prosecutors within a year and a half.
The CSMP is part of the Prosecutor General’s Office and serves as the superior management and disciplinary body through which the disciplinary and management authority over the Public Prosecutor’s Office personnel is exercised.
