In a statement, Gonçalo Almeida Ribeiro announced that his term as a judge of the Constitutional Court concluded on July 22. However, he chose to remain in office because the law stipulates that judges continue their duties until their successors are sworn in, and he felt it appropriate to wait until the end of September to give Parliament the chance to elect new judges, given that parliamentary activities paused in August.
“Since it is publicly known that the election will not occur by then, I have decided to leave the post I have been honored to hold for the past nine years and two months at the end of the month,” he stated.
Gonçalo Almeida Ribeiro emphasized that his departure from the Constitutional Court necessitates the election of a new vice-president by the advisory judges. Since the election system assumes a full panel, he sees it as his duty to first resign from his vice-presidency.
“This will be done on September 30, allowing the president of the Constitutional Court to call a plenary session to choose my successor the very next day, October 1. I will resign from my position as advisory judge immediately after that election,” he announced.
Gonçalo Almeida Ribeiro stated that in doing so, he is following “the precedent set in 2021 under similar circumstances.”
The Constitution stipulates that the terms of Constitutional Court judges last nine years and are non-renewable. Gonçalo Almeida Ribeiro assumed his role as a judge in July 2016 after being elected by Parliament under the PSD’s nomination.
Last month, Gonçalo Almeida Ribeiro criticized the declaration of constitutionality regarding the foreign law, arguing that the decree’s measures were “perfectly reasonable” and suggesting that the decision was based on personal beliefs.
An election in the Parliament to appoint three new judges to the Constitutional Court, originally scheduled for Friday, has been postponed again, as no party has proposed candidates for the roles.
