Over the past decade, Portugal has embraced a comprehensive reform of its justice system to make it more inclusive and efficient. The country has continued to develop its legal framework, focusing on initiatives to make justice more accessible to people. These reforms have included extensive efforts to modernise justice services, aligning with broader international objectives of ensuring equitable access to justice. The Simplex programme, Justiça + Próxima and, more recently, the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), the Justiça + programme and the GovTech strategy are some of the strategic documents that have paved the way for reforms in the justice sector. These strategic documents reflect a vision aligned with the OECD Recommendation on Access to Justice and People-Centred Justice Systems, which supports countries in improving access to justice and establishing people-centred justice, and the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.3, which calls for all member states to “promote the rule of law at the national and international levels, and ensure equal access to justice for all”.
This report assesses Portugal's journey toward a people-centred justice system and modernised justice sector and offers recommendations to sustain and amplify these advancements. A key theme throughout is the emphasis on integrating people-centred approaches at all levels of the justice system in Portugal. Recommendations include adopting continuous assessments of legal needs; making service design and delivery more people-centred; improving the availability, quality and use of data and statistical systems; and using digital technologies and data to improve the accessibility, efficiency and responsiveness of the Portuguese justice system. The report also highlights essential skills required for future-proofing Portugal’s justice sector, advocating for a systematic upskilling to meet the demands of digitally enabled and people-centred justice.
This report was developed based on fact-finding interviews with Portuguese stakeholders, a mapping of the delivery of justice services, a legal needs survey, a government questionnaire and an extensive literature review.
This report builds on the OECD Recommendations on Digital Government Strategies and on Access to Justice and People-Centred Justice Systems, the Framework and Good Practice Principles for People-Centred Justice, the OECD Criteria for People-Centred Legal and Justice Service Delivery, and the OECD Digital Government Policy Framework.
This report is the main output of the project “Modernisation of the Justice Sector in Portugal”, which supports the implementation of the modernisation agenda of the justice sector in Portugal, with a particular focus on a people-centred approach to justice. The project is supported by the European Commission under Regulation (EU) 2021/005 establishing a Technical Support Instrument (“TSI Regulation”). The action was funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument, and implemented by the OECD, in co-operation with the Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support of the European Commission.