1 – On August 24, 2007, the President of the Republic decided not to enact the Parliamentary decree that approved the terms of the extra-contractual third party liability of the State and remaining public bodies. In the message then sent to Parliament, the President of the Republic specifically made clear the reasons for his decision, which essentially derive from the need to find legislative remedies that, without placing at risk the liability of the State or its officers and the legitimate rights of the people, adequately safeguard the various public interests under consideration. That message can be found in the official site of the Presidency of the Republic in the Internet (www. presidencia.pt).
2 – Parliament later approved new legislation on the issue, in which certain alterations were made as to the State’s liability in the exercise of its legislative duties and which generally correspond to some of the remarks included in the message of the President of the Republic but did not, however, accept the propositions then made with respect to the exercise of administrative or jurisdictional duties.
3 – The President of the Republic remains convinced that, in the specific context of the current situation of the Country’s development, the new legislation continues to contain provisions which carry grave risks of interfering in the normal operation of public services and of the activities of the courts of justice, and may, in addition, have negative consequences on the State’s financial situation, the measure of which, being unforeseeable, will surely be very significant. As such it may, in future instances, render more difficult the resolution of the issues which the Country is facing.
4 – The legislation in question was reviewed by Members of Parliament and approved with a very significant majority, covering all the political parties represented therein. As such, since it is not reasonable to suppose that its basic opinion would be altered with the legislation being again returned for further consideration, the President of the Republic has decided to enact the Parliamentary decree which approves the terms of extra-contractual third party liability of the State and remaining public bodies.
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