We are meeting in this Noble Hall, on this solemn occasion, to observe the opening of the 2012 Judicial Year.

This is the adequate moment, before any other matter, to render my tribute to all the judicial officers, who daily, and often under difficult circumstances, carry out justice in Portugal as their lifelong mission.

But it is also the moment to underline that this ceremony, more than a formal act, must constitute a stimulus for a quiet reflection over the operation of our judicial system, which has for long been necessary and now more than ever urgent.

I cannot, for this reason, let by the renewal of my appeal that the sterile controversies between the officers responsible for our judicial system be replaced by a culture adapted to our current needs, of shared responsibility and constructive consensus, at the service of the citizenry and of the superior interests of the Country.

Otherwise, the judicial system will lose its dignity and credibility with the Portuguese, if not its fundamental principles of democratic legitimacy as well.

In effect, we must recognize that the way citizens face their judicial system does not offer great satisfaction.

Year after year, appeals are made to the sense of responsibility of the officers of the judicial system, but the problems with our judiciary are not showing any significant improvements. On the contrary, the degree of trust and the credibility of Portuguese Justice have been diminishing in the view of the citizens.

Within the limits that the Constitution places on the actions of the President of the Republic, and within the respect owed to the partition of powers, I have endeavoured, through contacts maintained with the officers responsible for the judicial system, to promote a climate of appeasement and of constructive dialogue between the representatives of Portuguese Justice and encourage an attitude of mutual understanding and cooperation, aiming to reach agreement for the necessary reforms.

It is not enough to proclaim the need to dignify justice, when reality persists in revealing controversy that has no meaning to the common citizen. It must not be forgotten that, in a final reckoning, if the system loses total credibility all of us, without exception, will be affected. No one is immune to the credibility crisis that has been affecting our Justice.

Moreover our experience has shown that persistence in friction and stress drives away the protagonists of the judicial system in the search for material solutions for justice’s real problems, which are many and difficult to resolve.

Since nobody can be exempted from the responsibility to contribute, it is fundamental that the necessary consensuses for the reform of Justice are obtained with a sense of responsibility and with everybody’s participation. The various protagonists of the judicial system must make themselves heard at the right moment and place and with the serenity and dignity that are due to their office.

The effectiveness of the changes that are required greatly depends upon the integrity of the several contributions put forward for the reform of Justice.
Judicial culture must be ruled by verbal restraint, by discreet attitudes and by professional strictness that, in general, is the emblem of the servants of the cause of Justice.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Portugal is living a new moment, a moment of great demand, but also of hope.

Nobody is exempt from contributing to overcome the difficult situation in which the Country finds itself.

In the field of Justice, this is a unique and undeniable opportunity to introduce, in a climate of peace, dialogue and permanent collaboration, the changes that have for so long been demanded.

As known, Portugal is complying with a Programme of Economic and Financial Aid subscribed with international institutions. This Programme includes a wide number of legislative, administrative and organizational measures that are specific for the area of Justice, in many diverse fields, aiming to combat the excessive procedural delays, to encourage the modernization of the judicial organization, to supply the system with new tools to manage conflict, and to simplify its main procedural legislation.

The eagerness that the Programme of Financial Assistance has placed on the reform of Justice is revealing both of the reforming delays that we have allowed happening, and of the relevance that Justice is recognized to have as a factor for the development of Portuguese society and our economic and entrepreneurial activities.

We thus hope that the persistent factors in the slowness of the administration of Justice, with the losses deriving thereof for the effective repositioning of citizens’ rights and the constraints it places on business activities will be greatly reduced.

Justice is now being called upon to contribute in no uncertain manner for the Country to overcome the difficult situation it is currently crossing, through a demanding programme of reforms and material results.

In effect, the demand for structural reform, which has long been considered necessary by the judiciary and is now consecrated in the Programme of Adjustment subscribed with the international institutions, is a unique opportunity to introduce, within a very condensed timetable, substantive and effective changes in our judicial framework.

Changes that were assumed as vital in order to overcome the recurring crisis in the administration of justice, which is reflected not just in people’s daily lives, but also in economic activity, namely in the capacity to attract the foreign investment that we so badly require, together with financial equilibrium, to renew the dynamics of growth.

In this context of international responsibility justice reforms must be considered as a commitment of the regime and are thus a priority that must be complied with, since they arise accompanied by the demand of strict appraisal and due timing of the adopted solutions.

The measures comprised in the Programme of Economic and Financial Aid are, doubtlessly, a stimulus for the Government to carry out the basic reforms of our justice system, and for the judicial officers to collaborate, with dialogue and constructively, in its preparation, in order to provide credibility to judicial activity and to again win the citizens’ trust.

It is within this picture that the legislative reforms already approved or under public debate concerning legislation on civil and penal procedures, through their simplification and without loss of individual guarantees, are inserted, as well as the review of the organization of the judiciary, conferring greater efficiency on its operation, aiming toward a progressive and sustainable reduction of the procedural delays in the various courts of justice.

In this context, the priority attributed to the resolution of the pending fiscal procedures, where legal disputes concerning large amounts and executive actions are dragging, thereby causing large losses for citizens and businesses, as well as the setting up of more effective regimes of arbitration and mediation in the extrajudicial management of conflict, is understandable.

To be underlined, equally, is the adaptation to the new realities of the legislation ruling competition, insolvencies and recovery of businesses, and the adoption of a new system of judicial costs.

The impulse to be given to the reforms in the field of justice shall naturally be given by the political decision makers, in a task calling for close collaboration between Parliament and the Government and which I, as President of the Republic, shall closely follow and with which I shall fully cooperate.

This is a procedure that requires participation from us all, political and institutional decision makers and judicial officers, within a climate of appeasement, of dialogue and constructive collaboration, in order that a framework of solutions may be approved which, whilst complying with the commitments assumed, contributes towards an effective and real improvement of our judicial system.

Any structural reform of Justice presupposes that the prestige of magistrates will be ensured, guaranteeing that due value is given to their endeavours and dedication. It is important that this is present in our minds, as it is important to recognize that Justice is not immune from the scrutiny of the people and that it must understand this reality, above all at a time when our patriotic sense of duty is deeply and radically called upon.

All of us, without exception, are bound by responsibility, as citizens of a sovereign Republic that wishes to be freer and, above all, wishes for better Justice.

Thank you very much.