The new board of the Portuguese Judges' Union (ASJP) was received today in an audience at the Belém Palace by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and at the end the new president of the association, judge Nuno Matos, considered the meeting positive due to the sharing of common concerns, namely the need for a reform of the Justice system.

"What is relevant is that the times we live in in relation to Justice made this visit more relevant, because we all realize that we are living a moment of great agitation and conducive to taking positions and even decisions on the issue of Justice that concern everyone. (...) Justice must be brought to the forefront of political action and the reform of Justice must be carried out now", said Nuno Matos to Lusa.

The president of ASJP said that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa conveyed his commitment to a reform "in a short time and in a correct, serious and consistent manner", which does not only involve "talking about the issues, but solving the issues, some more urgent, others more fundamental".

Nuno Matos defended, however, that speed does not mean lack of consideration.

"Making certain reforms on two or three specific cases, in the heat of the moment or on the spur of the moment, usually do not yield good results. We have to be able to distinguish the essential from the accessory, it is not about changing for the sake of changing, it is about reflecting on the issues and changing, and not being tempted to change precisely because of these very specific issues. It is necessary to have this notion and the exact dimension of things", he said.

Among the emergencies, Nuno Matos placed the resolution of the problem of judicial staff, drawing attention to the problems created for the justice system by successive strikes, and to the need to make careers in Justice -- of the magistracies and of judicial staff -- more attractive to attract talent.

"There are things that are absolutely urgent and others that have to be thought about in a longer term, true in-depth reforms. The Justice system often does not tolerate current management, often political action is what it does, it does not attack the fundamental problems", said the president of ASJP.

Nuno Matos said that many of the problems in the sector have been identified and that "the political power has been alerted to them for a long time".

"If we look at the opening speeches of the judicial year, I think that almost all of them refer to the need to change some things, to reform Justice, and even paths are pointed out and then they end up not being implemented, because it requires a very strong political will and it also requires means, because you cannot ask for results without means", he stressed.

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