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Portuguese do not trust their own justice system

courthouseA new study by consumer watchdog, Deco, concludes that the Portuguese have "very little" trust in their own justice system.

The study also pointed out that the public knows "almost nothing" about the functioning of the judiciary and certainly has the opinion that it is not independent of political interference.

Ignorance of how the system works and a general distrust of the judicial system are inexorably linked, particularly by women in the 30 to 44-year-old age group and by those with poorer education levels.

On a scale of 1-10, the confidence index in the justice system scored a poor 3.4. Even for the male, better educated over 45-year-old sector, which normally is less prone to supposition, the confidence index is below four.

The national survey was part of wider plan to see what citizens thought of their justice systems in Spain, Italy and Belgium as well as in Portugal.

The opinions on the state of Portugal's judicial system were drawn from responses to 15,000 questionnaires mailed to citizens aged between 30 and 74 years, representing about six million Portuguese, according to Carlos Morgado who was in charge of Deco’s study.

Less than half of the respondents knew that the Government can not change a court decision and overall only 7% had full confidence in the justice system, with 69% having very little confidence at all.

Bruno Santos of Deco said that he was “not astonished” by the widespread discontent that citizens have in the justice system," but was astonished at the level of ignorance in how the system worked.

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Comments  

-2 #3 Chez 2016-10-26 09:34
Who can blame them! I remember reading, possibly on ADN, that trainee judges were found cheating during their exams. Why would the judiciary be any different to many of the elite in this country who have been proven to be rotten to the core.
-4 #2 Geoff Harris 2016-10-26 07:34
liveaboard is right about contracts in Portugal being nearly (as good as) worthless - but wildly wrong about the 25 years.

All Portuguese cases of this kind 'fall out of time' after 10 years and - with foreigners - both sides of lawyers aim for this. As their rightful 'earner'.

Even without questioning the integrity of the judiciary, public prosecutors and court officers - as native Portuguese do; any foreigner caught up in the lunacy that passes for Portuguese Justice will know of the lost or tampered documents; missing or now confused witnesses; allegedly inadequate translation. As we now warn everyone we meet back in the UK- stay away. Portuguese justice is still no where near being able to protect you and yours.
+1 #1 liveaboard 2016-10-25 19:38
With normal civil cases taking 25 years to wind through the courts, everyone knows it's impractical to sue.
This makes contracts nearly worthless, and simple business becomes laden with risk.
Lawyers are unaccountable to their clients.
Judges don't bother to read the briefs.
There is definitely work to be done.

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