Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues, one of the signatories, explained to the Lusa agency that the hearing with the Portuguese head of state lasted two hours and allowed "confirmation of the concerns" of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

The former Minister of Education (Socialist government) recalled that the President of the Republic has been reaffirming "since the beginning of his term" the concern "with the problems of justice and the need for a reform of justice".

"He made several efforts, we talked about it, not always with the consequences and results he would like, but in any case, he does not give up, recognizes that there is a need for a reform of justice, as he always said, and he expects that incremental changes can be made, that steps can be taken to improve the justice system", said Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues.

In the hearing that took place today at the Palácio de Belém, and which was reported on the Presidency's website, Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, Leonor Beleza, Lídia Jorge, Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues and Mónica Quintela were present on behalf of the signatories of the manifesto.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had been questioned about this hearing today and, without commenting on the content of this document, recalled the positions he has taken since he took office, concluding: "From the first minute until now to the last minute, which was the inauguration of the Government, I can only agree with the importance of reforming justice".

After the meeting with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the former minister and rector of ISCTE stressed that the signatories will "continue to seek to debate and reflect with other actors in the political system", such as political parties or the Assembly of the Republic.

"There are several institutions that also have responsibilities in the way the justice system works and, therefore, we will continue this work of reflection, of exchanging impressions on the different positions and possible solutions for the problems we have identified", guaranteed Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues.

The former PSD leader Rui Rio had told Lusa on May 9th that he had requested an audience with the President of the Republic, "to present and debate the document, so that it can become a base element for the reform of Justice".

Rui Rio also mentioned that the manifesto, which is led by "a hard core" also composed of Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues, Ferro Rodrigues, David Justino, Vital Moreira, Paulo Mota Pinto, Mónica Quintela, Augusto Santos Silva and Daniel Proença de Carvalho, already had more than 50 signatories.

The Manifesto of the 50 was released in early May, with the group of 50 personalities signing the document in defense of a "civic surge" that ends the "worrying inertia" of political agents in relation to the reform of Justice, in an appeal to the President of the Republic, the Government and the Parliament.

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