Bad weather. Ministry of Justice recommends closing courts

Oregistries services will be closed on Wednesday throughout the continental territory, the Ministry of Justice (MJ) said in a statement, which also recommends the national closure of first instance courts due to bad weather.

Following the statement of alert situation due to the passage of depression Charles across the national territory, the MJ decided to close the registries and courts of first instance, with the aim of “avoiding movements of citizens and workers in a period of high risk, keeping in operation services that cannot stop”.

“ The measures relating to registration services shall apply to the whole continental territory. The Court Recommendation covers the whole country, including the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira. The guidelines have already been transmitted to the services today”, MJ said.

As for the first instance courts and the closing recommendation on Wednesday, the MJ states that, “since the alert situation is in force only one day, the Judiciary System Organization Act does not require urgent service to be ensured during that period.”.

“ If the alert situation is to be extended to the 12th, the conditions for the opening of the courts’ premises should be ensured during the afternoon of that day, on a shift basis, in order to avoid closure for 48 consecutive hours,” the Government also announced.

Today, the Superior Council of the Magistracy (CSM) had left the partial or total closure of the courts to the discretion of the Presidents on Wednesday, noting that urgent steps must be taken, according to an order obtained by Lusa.

Despite the closure of face-to-face care in the registries services, the “urgent and unavoidable acts” are taken into account, and the telework activity is maintained, “whenever the functions allow it, so that the treatment of pending acts and processes is not interrupted”.

Citizens scheduled for Wednesday, November 11, are being contacted for reschedules, with MJ reporting that many acts can be treated without face-to-face movements through online services.

The National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences will also apply the telework regime, ensuring only the reception and delivery of corpses and the emergency scale of doctors.

At the National Institute of Industrial Property, face-to-face care will be closed on November 11, while telephone and online service will be maintained, allowing the deadlines for procedures ending on Wednesday to be extended to the next day.

Continental Portugal is in a state of alert, between 00:00 and 23:59 Wednesday, due to the foreseeable worsening of the state of time with the arrival of depression Charles, it is expected that Lisbon, Leiria, Setúbal, Beja and Faro will be the most affected regions.

The gravity of the scenario led the government to decide to close non-essential public schools and services in all districts, and the authorities admitted closing bridges and air traffic restrictions.

According to Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), “the occurrence of heavy rain or shower periods, strong wind, with gusts that can reach 120 km/h and, in case of formation of the phenomenon ‘sting jet’ (air current that quickly descends within an extratropical depression, accelerating towards the surface), exceed 150 km/h”.