Technological and network issues continue to disrupt operations in courts, according to the Judicial Officers Union (SFJ). These persistent problems have rendered judicial personnel unable to access necessary systems.
The Ministry of Justice confirmed a network failure at the Lisbon Court Palace, starting at 1:30 p.m., which has hindered access to online applications and services. The Financial Management and Justice Equipment Institute (IGFEJ) has dispatched a team to address the malfunction.
The team is currently investigating the source of the issue with the aim of resolving it swiftly, and the Ministry’s services are optimistic that normal operations will resume by Tuesday morning.
Reportedly, 10 proceedings were postponed at the central and local civil instances of the Court Palace, six videoconferences were not conducted, the recording of a hearing involving an adult ward did not occur, and some tasks related to the Public Ministry had to be documented offline, stored on USB drives, according to the SFJ.
Additional reports detail computer failures and system slowdowns at the courts in Almada, Alenquer, Barreiro, and at the Criminal Local Court of Lisbon, at the Justice Campus.
“Regrettably, these incidents have become frequent, causing intermittent justice processes that either advance or halt, thereby undermining public service, observing deadlines, and the dignity of justice professionals,” stated the union.
The SFJ indicated that today’s situation highlights “the structural weakness of the Justice’s IT systems.” In response, the Ministry of Justice noted ongoing replacements of existing IT equipment, including the one that failed today at the Lisbon Court Palace, which was part of the computer equipment renewal plan.
The union expressed that the issue “impacts work, deadlines, citizens, and professionals, who already cope with daily overwork.”
A serious concern is the absence of an alert or immediate official communication from the General Directorate of Justice Administration (DGAJ) or the IGFEJ. “We are the ‘sentries’ on the ground,” they noted.
Last week, judicial staff had previously raised alarms about IT and network issues that were obstructing normal court operations. The IGFEJ initially attributed the outage to MEO, the central network operator for court infrastructure, which is currently providing both the primary and redundant network solutions.
The following day, however, IGFEJ revised this statement, indicating that the possibility of the failure originating from MEO’s fiber optic network “has not been reconfirmed, nor has it been dismissed.”
The Ministry of Justice’s statement acknowledged ongoing instability in the Justice communication network since the April 28 power outage but affirmed that it did not stem from the Justice’s IT applications.
“With the problem’s source still unidentified, IGFEJ, supported by various technological partners and communication operators, continues to examine the situation to expedite its resolution,” was stated by the IGFEJ on May 6.
