The Office of the High Inspector of Justice and the High Judicial Council of Portugal signed a memorandum of understanding, within the framework of the working visit that the High Inspector of Justice carried out in Lisbon.
The memorandum signed by the High Inspector of Justice, Mr. Artur Metani, and the Vice President of the High Judicial Council of Portugal, Mr. Luís Azevedo Mendes aims to create a framework of mutual and sustainable cooperation in the areas of judicial inspections, disciplinary investigations and matters of mutual interest, with the aim of strengthening integrity and professional ethics, institutional development and improving the capacities of the parties. The Office of the High Inspector of Justice and the High Judicial Council of Portugal agreed to cooperate through the exchange of information and documentation, study visits and staff exchanges, the organization of training activities and thematic meetings, the development of joint projects and initiatives, as well as other agreed forms of cooperation.
During the official meeting at the High Judicial Council of Portugal, the High Inspector of Justice, Mr. Artur Metani, together with the accompanying delegation, were introduced to the competences of the Council and the functioning of the inspection service for judges. For his part, Mr. Metani presented the functions of the HIJ, as the institution responsible for verifying complaints, investigating disciplinary violations, initiating disciplinary proceedings against judges and prosecutors of all levels, as well as for the institutional inspection of courts and prosecution’ offices.
During the visit to the Supreme Court, the delegation from HIJ was introduced to the inspection process of Supreme Court judges and exchanged experiences on supervision practices.
The visit to the Court of Appeal of Porto included working sessions and discussions on the monitoring and evaluation of the performance of courts and judges, the disciplinary regime, sanctions and disciplinary procedures at all their stages. The MEENOS project was also presented, which aims to simplify the language used in judicial decisions to increase their clarity and accessibility. The MEENOS project (Modernization of the Justice Sector in Portugal) is an initiative of the Portuguese Judicial Council, which aims to improve the efficiency, transparency and clarity in the functioning of the judicial system, through innovative practices, training and advanced standards of professional communication.
The cooperation between the High Inspector of Justice and the Portuguese Judicial Council has been developing for a long time, also within the framework of the European Network of Justice Inspection Services (RESIJ), where both institutions are members, with a focus on the exchange of practices and the strengthening of inspection standards in justice.
