National Parliament Approves Amendment to the Judicial Organisation Law to Ensure Full Implementation of the Judicial System

Fri. 18 of April of 2025, 09:34h

This Wednesday, April 16, 2025, the National Parliament approved the proposed amendment to the Law on Judicial Organisation in a final overall vote, with 39 votes in favour, 18 against and one abstention. The President of the National Parliament, Maria Fernanda Lay, chaired the plenary session. It was attended by the Minister of Justice, Sérgio de Jesus Fernandes da Costa Hornai, and the Vice Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Adérito Hugo da Costa. 

The proposal now approved aims to make the second amendment to Law no. 25/2021, of December 21st, to ensure the legal conditions necessary for the full installation of the Supreme Court of Justice. In its previous version, the legislation provided for installing this higher court within 30 months, but the complexity of recruiting and selecting magistrates prevented the stipulated deadline from being met.

The Recruitment and Selection Commission, which was responsible for setting up the selection panel for assessing documents, tests, and interviews for the candidate judges, was unable to finalise the process within the legal deadline. This legislative amendment extends that deadline, allowing the procedures to be finalised with rigour and impartiality, safeguarding the quality and legitimacy of the new judicial structure. 

The proposal also clarifies the regime for the transition of judges and technical staff from the current Court of Appeal to the “new Court of Appeal”. It also establishes, on a transitional basis, that the President of the Court of Appeal will be appointed by the President of the Republic for a four-year term until the installation of the new higher courts is declared.

This legislative amendment is part of the broader framework for reforming the justice sector promoted by the 9th Constitutional Government, whose priority is to strengthen the democratic State institutions and consolidate strong, accessible, and effective judicial institutions throughout the country. As stated in its Programme, the Government reaffirms its commitment “to consolidating an effective justice system, where the processes through which it is applied are swift, balanced, reliable, independent and fair”.