Portugal recognises the importance of responsive and accessible justice. In the past decade, the country has embraced a comprehensive reform towards a more inclusive and efficient justice system. As highlighted in the OECD report Justice Transformation in Portugal: Building on successes and challenges, the country has been taking active steps towards a more accessible, efficient and responsive justice system that is sensitive to the needs of people and businesses.
A dominant feature of Portugal’s recent justice system reform has been “bringing justice closer to the people”. People-centred justice systems aim to put people and their legal and justice needs at the centre, and thus as a core part of the justice reforms, design and delivery of policies and services. Some of the country’s greatest efforts in the past decade have included legal reforms and initiatives to modernise justice services, aligning with broader international objectives to ensure equitable access to justice. The Simplex programme, Justiça + Próxima and, more recently, the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), the Justice + programme and the GovTech Strategy are some of the examples that have laid the groundwork for a transformation of the justice sector in Portugal. These strategic documents inform a vision aligned with the objectives of the OECD Recommendation on Access to Justice and People-Centred Justice Systems and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16.3. This report assesses Portugal's journey toward a people-centred and modern justice sector and offers a range of recommendations to sustain and amplify these advancements.
Portugal has shown strong leadership in the justice sector and a firm commitment by justice institutions to achieving their existing missions and working within their areas of responsibility and mandates. It has carried out several initiatives to take people’s needs into account in designing and delivering justice policies and services. Likewise, the country made efforts to map justice services and legal needs, including through national legal needs surveys and studies. Yet, while much has been accomplished, there is still scope to strengthen a people-centred approach in the justice sector. This entails a shift from a government-led approach to one that prioritises people’s needs and embeds a people-centred philosophy at all levels of the justice system. Concretely, this means reflecting a people-centred approach in the mandates, design and delivery of justice policies and services, and conducting ongoing reviews to re-align them with a people-centred purpose.
In addition, considerable progress has been made in providing legal and justice services in Portugal. Nonetheless, the service mapping conducted as part of this report identified scope to promote ongoing engagement and awareness-raising in the population about various dispute resolution options. The report also identifies a need to enhance referral strategies among government and community agencies using an omni-channel approach and not limited to official judicial institutions. To enhance the design and delivery of justice services for a people-centred purpose, Portugal should continue undertaking efforts to improve responsiveness, effectiveness and accessibility, notably through long-term strategic planning and co-ordination among various government portfolios and related services to support the effective allocation of resources and implementation of justice policies. The report also suggests strategic partnerships among public sector organisations as a useful way to develop co-ordinated mapping of legal and social service needs. In addition, particular attention should be given to equitable distribution of legal aid and reviewing legislation to ensure that legal representation aligns with the values of accessible and people-centred justice.
Portugal has taken important steps in recent years to improve the skills of the justice workforce and the digital and legal literacy of the population more broadly. Yet, the report identifies existing gaps in skills among justice sector stakeholders and a need for continuous upskilling to meet the evolving demands of a modern justice system. There is also a clear recognition of the need to integrate a people-centred purpose into training in areas related to the design and delivery of legal and justice services. The report also recognises the need to improve other areas, including a long-term strategic vision for skills, cross-sectoral and interdepartmental collaboration, and enhancing organisational processes to better support ongoing learning and skills development.
The country made significant strides in measuring performance to evaluate and monitor progress in its justice system, principally focused on the formal elements of the justice system. A set of strategic performance goals and key performance indicators aim to provide a nuanced assessment of the justice system by considering, among other aspects, operational efficiency, simplification, timeliness and satisfaction with services. This demonstrates commitment to enhancing the transparency, efficiency, and overall effectiveness of the justice system in Portugal. However, important gaps remain in Portugal’s ability to collect and utilise data that gives it a people-centred perspective of access to justice. Looking ahead, the country could consider integrating user satisfaction surveys and outcome data into the justice data framework. There is also a need to adopt standardised protocols for data collection, provide incentives for excellence in data management, and promote data integration.
Portugal has made significant efforts to accelerate the digital transformation of the justice system and integrate digital technologies and data to design and deliver people-centred justice. Portugal’s strategic documents echo the government’s commitment to accelerate innovation and use digital technologies and data to improve people’s lives, building on previous administrative simplification efforts. Areas where further efforts could underpin the successful use of digital technologies and data to improve access to justice include improving governance arrangements that oversee the digital transformation of the justice system. This entails addressing the sustainability of strategic plans, developing a strategic vision for the responsible and trustworthy use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the justice sector, enhancing information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, and improving both institutional and individual capabilities. The report highlights the importance of strong, directive leadership to maintain momentum and ensure alignment with broader government objectives. The report also emphasises strategic partnerships to leverage expertise, resources, and data to improve justice services.
