Manifesto of the 50 blames the Public Ministry for the “fall” of two Governments

The manifesto “For a reform of Justice in defense of the Democratic Rule of Law”released this Friday, lists in ten points “failures” of the Justice system in Portugal that “are in no way compatible with the Democratic Rule of Law” and calls for a “proactive attitude” from political power to implement a true reform in what they consider to be the “public sector that has had the most problems”.

“The signatories urge the President of the Republic, the Assembly of the Republic and the Government, as well as all national political parties, to take the necessary initiatives to implement reform in the Justice sector”can be read in the document.
“Undue interference in political power”

In addition to the delays, breaches of judicial secrecy and serious abuses in criminal investigations, the manifesto denounces the “perverse” actions of justice, “with more political than judicial contours” in “setting up the already usual media spectacle in the Ministry’s interventions Public against political agents”.

But also the “prolonged passivity” of those responsible for politics in the face of this “wicked reality” that “allowed us to reach the painful limit of seeing the action of the Public Ministry produce the fall of two parliamentary majorities resulting from recent elections”.

The fifty subscribers of the manifesto consider it “inconceivable” that, even though “a long five months” had passed between the former prime minister, António Costa, resigning following the statement from the Attorney General’s Office and his termination of office. “The Public Prosecutor’s Office did not even deign to inform him about the object of the investigation nor did he summon him for any procedural action”they accuse.

Various personalities from Portuguese politicsincluding the previous presidents of the Assembly of the Republic Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues and Augusto Santos Silva, but also the former leader of the PSD, Rui Rio and the former governor of the Bank of Portugal, Vítor Constâncio, warn of the danger of erosion in the regime that “reinforces popular discontent and opens the doors to populism and demagoguery”.

In the 50 years of Portuguese democracy, the signatories emphasize that it is necessary to “recognize in a dignified and loyal way what is weakening it” and “have the courage and will to change”.

Stressing the need for full respect for the independence of the courts and the autonomy of the Public Ministry, the subscribers defend the implementation of mechanisms for “external scrutiny” of the judiciary, involving the Assembly of the Republic, and the accountability of each hierarchical level of the Public Ministry.