The Supreme Court of Justice (STJ) has ruled that José Sócrates must pay a procedural sanction of 1,020 euros, upholding a decision by the Lisbon Court of Appeal. This decision rejected an objection request regarding the judge leading the Operation Marquês trial, Susana Seca, deeming it “manifestly unfounded.”
On July 3, Pedro Delille, Sócrates’ lawyer, argued that the trial could not continue while objections were pending against the Attorney General, Amadeu Guerra, whom he accused of interfering in the case through the prosecutorial team appointed to the process.
In today’s ruling, the STJ stated that the authority to appoint the public prosecutor’s representative and their support team falls under the managerial competencies of the Attorney General, and does not constitute interference in the proceedings.
The former Prime Minister (2005-2011) accused the Attorney General of unfairly converting the presumption of innocence into a presumption of guilt.
This criticism followed Amadeu Guerra’s remarks to Observador, where he suggested that Sócrates should have the chance to prove his innocence. Sócrates deemed this statement a violation of community directives.
As a result, Sócrates filed two objections: one against Judge Susana Seca, which was dismissed, and another against the Attorney General.
The ruling stated that it would make no sense to ask the Court of Justice to interpret remarks taken out of the total context of an interview lasting 01:16:05, by merely focusing on isolated words.
Concerning the Attorney General’s statements in the June 25 interview with Observador, the STJ found no basis to interpret them as shifting the burden of proof or as influencing Sócrates’ right to defense and presumption of innocence.
The STJ also noted that it would not forward the objection to European institutions, as the issues raised do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union for preliminary rulings.
The request for a preliminary ruling must concern the interpretation or validity of Union law, not national law or factual issues in the main process, the panel led by advisor Jorge Gonçalves explained.
José Sócrates is the main defendant in Operation Marquês and faces 22 charges, including three counts of passive corruption of a political officeholder, 13 of money laundering, and six of qualified tax fraud.
[Updated at 19:34]
