Regarding the manifesto signed by about a hundred personalities in defense of a Justice reform that was released last month, Maria José Fernandes, in an article published today in the newspaper Público, believes that there was a misinterpretation when it was said that it was a process of intentions and recalls the poll in which the Portuguese gave a negative evaluation to the functioning of Justice. "Perhaps due to a lack of arguments, the already much-used and unfounded conclusion of a process of intentions was unfurled: it is said that the signatories of the Manifesto want to end the autonomy of the Public Prosecutor's Office [Ministério Público] and subject it to an authoritarian leadership", writes the deputy attorney general. Recalling the recent poll in which 72% of the Portuguese contacted rated the functioning of justice in general as bad/very bad - "with the Public Prosecutor's Office specifically receiving an evaluation at that level" -, she believes that such indicators should make the Public Prosecutor's Office "look inward, with no room for victimization". "I predict that the less informed may be led to think that the internal and external autonomy of the Public Prosecutors is a personal right that enables them to act in each case, according to interpretations or personalistic views of the situation. Nothing could be more wrong", she states. She emphasizes that such autonomy is "a functional prerogative" that aims to "guarantee a professional practice free from influences" and, because the magistrates "act in the service of the law and the community of citizens", she considers criticism legitimate. She argues that, when "looking inward", the Public Prosecutor's Office should "list the problems, entropies, the bad and/or deficient responses, their whys", in order to "more easily" find "realistic solutions, adapted to the dynamics and demands of the present time". "Artificial intelligence and its potential for good could create tools intended for the easy execution of many acts --- not decision-making, obviously --- necessary for the interaction of the system with the user", she believes. In defense of a more agile Public Prosecutor's Office, she argues that it was urgent to consider the "plea bargain, for certain types of crime, without loss of guarantees" and a review of the appeals system, "abolishing the excessive and redundant". Another urgency, she indicates, is the listing of all the so-called mega-trials, "or of similar volume", pending for more than two years so that it is possible to assess the reasons for the non-conclusion and, "if necessary and possible", redefine the investigative strategy. "It is imperative to reset the counter of delays, in any of the jurisdictional areas, and move forward without complaints", considers the prosecutor, insisting: "The community of citizens, which is wise, demands action and effectiveness and no longer accepts unfeasible excuses". The magistrate had already been critical of the work of the Public Prosecutor's Office, when in an article published in November, also in Público, she questioned the work and investigation methods and, although without referring to Operation Influencer, questioned how it was possible to reach "the decision-making that provoked a monumental political crisis and whose consequences are still in the churchyard". In the article, the prosecutor alleged, among other points, that "the outcomes of several cases already tried allow us to conclude that there are aspects of the work of the investigating prosecutors that need to be reviewed and improved through self-criticism". Following this article, the superior council of the Public Prosecutor's Office instituted disciplinary proceedings against the prosecutor. Read Also: 'Free' from the Public Prosecutor's Office, Costa has "better conditions" to preside in Europe (Portuguese version)