Portugal again has been condemned and fined by the European Court of Human Rights over the country’s lethargic justice system relating to four new cases which had been listed as being particularly poor examples of Portugal’s justice system, cases that have been languishing in the Portuguese courts for years.
The total level of fines was low but the point has been made time and time again that a key aspect of a civilised society is the right of its citizens to have access to a fair and timely system of justice. This is not happening in Portugal and many litigants with sensible claims are deterred from entering into a lifetime of lawyer's fees by actually going to court.