Portugal has embarked on an ambitious agenda to guide the transformation of the justice sector. The report takes stock of the Portugal's justice sector modernisaton reforms and more current efforts to make the justice sector more transparent, accessible and effective. It examines specific programmes aimed at promoting innovation, humanisation and proximity to citizens through the use of digital technologies, simplification and demateralisation of procedures. Finally, the report identifies results and provide policy recommendations to support Portugal on its journey to provide justice services to meet the needs of citizens and businesses.
Justice Transformation in Portugal
Building on Successes and Challenges
Abstract
Executive Summary
Countries worldwide are seeking to transform their justice systems. Indeed, good governance, sound policy design and effective service delivery in justice institutions can contribute to a country’s strong economic performance.
Like many OECD countries, Portugal is facing rising citizen expectations in terms of public sector performance, while experiencing low levels of public trust and confidence. These trends also affect the justice system, with people demanding greater efficiency and transparency, faster and more streamlined proceedings, and user-centred and responsive services. Meeting these demands requires new thinking and innovative practices that place the needs of people and businesses at the heart of justice institutions, policies and services.
In response to these pressures, Portugal has developed an ambitious agenda to guide the transformation towards a citizen-centred justice sector. Multiple reforms over the past two decades have sought to make the judiciary more transparent, accessible and effective. With its most recent reforms, “Justiça + Próxima” and “Simplex +”, Portugal has adopted an integrated approach to administrative simplification, service improvement and digital strategies.
Under the Justiça + Próxima programme, Portugal aims to increase transparency and trust in justice institutions by simplifying and digitizing procedures, promoting justice innovation, and bringing the institutions closer to citizens. It has put in place over 170 constantly evolving and updated measures, which were designed through an innovative, collaborative and bottom-up process carried out with various justice stakeholders and citizens.
Portugal has also invested in the development of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms (i.e. arbitration, mediation and justices of the peace), which are becoming increasingly popular among citizens. The forthcoming common management platform for justices of the peace in consumer disputes, arbitration centres and public mediation systems (ADR +) will provide a strong basis for developing a holistic justice ecosystem, in line with the OECD criteria on people-centred justice services.
As part of the Justiça + Próxima programme, the Tribunal + project - including its pilot the Court of Sintra - promotes a greater use of technology in the courts as well as the rationalisation of internal and user processes. The project is generally appreciated by court staff, lawyers and court users, although citizens still need to come to court in person to obtain most information.
More broadly, Portugal continues its efforts to optimise the delivery of justice. For example, it has recently introduced a new model of court management to improve resource management and good governance. In addition, further to the multiple judicial map reforms carried out in recent years, a series of measures are planned to improve access to justice, including re-evaluating the judicial map, reopening several small courts and strengthening court infrastructure and capacities for video conferencing. Effective implementation of these measures will be critical to alleviate concerns about the growing concentration and centralisation of courts.
Overall, the current reforms of the justice system in Portugal, specifically the Justiça + Próxima programme (including the Tribunal + project), have a strong potential to transform the way in which the justice sector works. Recent data suggest that the Portuguese courts have made substantial efficiency gains, with the duration of court proceedings dropping from 417 days in 2010 to 289 days in 2016 on average. Trust in justice systems has also increased from 35% in 2014 to 44% in 2018 (CEPEJ data). Yet, as highlighted in the 2019 OECD Economic Survey of Portugal, trials are still long compared to other OECD countries, with more than one-third of cases taking over a year to resolve. Moreover, trust in the system remains generally low. There is also a limited understanding of the extent to which current services can meet the needs of different groups of people and businesses.
In order to reap the full benefits and ensure the sustainability of the court modernisation reforms, it is important to further institutionalize them in policies, internal regulations, budgets and other dimensions of the justice system. There is also scope to enhance the involvement of the judiciary and individual judges in court transformation, process simplification and strengthening of human resources (i.e. legal clerks and assistant judges). Targeted judicial training could help improve the effectiveness of the 2013 judicial specialisation reforms. In addition, Portugal may also consider granting greater autonomy to court presidents, to improve efficiency in court management and support the achievement of the objectives for which they are accountable, and strengthening the powers of the Judicial Councils in the management of the judicial branch.
Providing stronger incentives for the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes (e.g. through greater court intervention), expanding them to other areas (e.g. commercial mediation), and improving the resolution of enforcement cases (including contract enforcement and insolvency proceedings) could further enhance the timeliness and efficiency of court processes.
Looking ahead, Portugal may consider developing a long-term and comprehensive justice strategy that brings together different branches of power and integrates different reform elements. Such a strategy should be based on a solid governance framework and could provide a platform for strengthening the overall justice infrastructure, and, ultimately, create a people-centred, seamless justice ecosystem. The strategy should be underpinned by a clear and evidence-based understanding of who needs justice the most, their legal problems and the impediments that they face in resolving these problems.
