Judges from 80 countries in Lisbon to discuss judicial independence

Cfrom today in Lisbon to discuss the independence of justice and the retreat of the rule of law in the world, problems that the judiciary still does not feel in Portugal.

The Association Union of Portuguese Judges (ASJP) is the host of the 68th Annual Meeting of the International Union of Magistrates (IMU), which starts today, in Lisbon, with the reception to the participants, but whose work begins effectively on the 16th and extends until the 19th, with the attacks on judicial independence and the rule of law on the agenda of the approximately 400 judges from 80 countries that will be in Portugal.

According to judge judge Nuno Matos, president of ASJP, the scenario of regression in the independence of justice is not found in the country, an opinion that is based on a study conducted with magistrates from various Portuguese-speaking countries, which pointed out problems in several of these states, but not in Portugal.

However, it states that it is necessary to be attentive to factors other than the direct external pressures on the judges' decisions.

“ This independence in Portugal can be said to be guaranteed. Now, independence is also played on many other things, on working conditions, on the status of the judges' career, on the legislative changes that are made, so there is also a good part of independence and we have to be aware, of course ", said Nuno Matos.

Although these international bodies of judges do not have a “coercive force” over States, they have an institutional power of denunciation based on their international union and on their weight in global organisations such as the United Nations, the president of ASJP stressed.

The concern with the threat posed by the far right to the rule of law will be present at the working meetings, as well as the risks associated with the use of artificial intelligence (IA) in Justice, which in Portugal is already working on specific tools to ensure the security of the judicial system and citizens.

“ There has to be control of the use of the AI tools. We to make use of an AI tool in the area of justice, we have to give the data to that AI system and then we don't know where that data goes. And this is problematic,” Nuno Matos said.

The judge held that “there has to be some control”, of course”, being developed “AI tools applied to justice itself, which the Superior Council of the Magistracy is carrying out”.

“ It has to have these concerns of data security protection that poses challenges ", said.

The solemn opening session of the international conference is scheduled for 17:00 on the 16th, at the Pavilion of Portugal in Lisbon, with the presence and interventions of the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, the president of the City of Lisbon, Carlos Coins, the president of the Supreme Court, João Cura Mariano, the president of ASJP, Nuno Matos, the president of the UIM, Walter Barone, among others.

With most working sessions closed to the media, the second open moment takes place on Sunday morning, October 18, with a panel on the role of the judges' associations and which will feature the intervention of Margaret Satterthwaite, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.

The conclusions of the conference will be presented by Luís Menezes Leitão, president of the Scientific Council of the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, Walter Barone and Giacomo Oberto, Secretary General of the UIM.