Shambolic ‘Operation Marquês’ drives sweeping reform of Portugal’s criminal justice system

Portugal’s long-running Operation Marquês corruption case is continuing to reshape the country’s criminal justice system, with the high-profile prosecution of former Socialist prime minister José Sócrates serving as a catalyst for major reforms to the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The unprecedented scale and complexity of the case, combined with years of procedural disputes, have intensified scrutiny of Portugal’s criminal justice system and fuelled political pressure for reforms aimed at speeding-up trials and reducing the scope for procedural delays.

According to an analysis published by Sábado magazine this week, the public profile of Operation Marquês has become one of the principal drivers behind the government’s overhaul of criminal procedure – bringing renewed attention to lengthy judicial proceedings, repeated appeals and procedural challenges that have characterised the case, turning it into a combination of laughing stock and national embarrassment.

Legal experts stress that the trial’s influence extends far beyond the prosecution itself (which has been frsutrated at almost every turn).

Mário Monte, a law professor at the University of Minho, warned that if some of the alleged offences ultimately become time-barred under Portugal’s statute of limitations (as everything suggests they will), “everything will be questioned”.

Justice Minister Rita Júdice has defended reforms unveiled in February arguing that they were intended to create a system with “fewer delaying tactics” (instruments favoured by Mr Sócrates).

Legislative changes already approved are designed to curb procedural mechanisms considered capable of unnecessarily delaying trials. They include allowing judges to impose fines for applications deemed “manifestly unfounded”, removing the automatic suspension of proceedings when judges are challenged, shortening deadlines for procedural objections and simplifying the hearing of witnesses.

The reforms come after José Sócrates, before entering the current stage of proceedings in which he is temporarily without legal representation for the trial, filed a total of 71 appeals, 24 complaints and 23 requests seeking the recusal of judges before Portugal’s higher courts, explains Sábado.

The former prime minister has argued that the reforms were specifically designed to target his case. Certainly, the changes have divided Portugal’s legal community.

Several criminal defence lawyers argue that the reforms focus disproportionately on restricting defendants’ procedural rights rather than addressing the structural causes of judicial delays.

Pedro Barosa, a lawyer with Abreu Advogados, criticised what he described as “a fundamental prejudice” underpinning the reforms — the assumption that lengthy proceedings are primarily the result of the conduct of defendants and their lawyers. He also questioned the subjective criteria that could be used when imposing fines for alleged delaying tactics.

Despite the approval of the first phase of reform, the government has already announced a second legislative package, expected after the summer.

That next stage will focus on the investigation phase led by public prosecutors and the judicial instruction stage — two areas that have also generated significant controversy during Operation Marquês, which one way or the other, has been shuffling through the judicial system now for well over a decade.

Source material: Executive Digest, citing Sábado

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.