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1. The President of the Republic requested today, from the Constitutional Court, a preventive investigation regarding the constitutionality of several provisions of the legislation emanating from Parliament which approved the third revision of the Political and Administrative Statute of the Azores Autonomous Region.

2. Without prejudice of existing political and/or institutional reservations concerning other provisions in this legislation, the object of the request for investigation of constitutionality is as described ahead:

2.1. The provisions in No. 5 of article No. 69 (time limitations to set the date for regional elections), in No. 3 of article No. 114 (hearing by the President of the Republic of the governing bodies of the Azores Autonomous Region prior to the declaration of a state of siege and a state of emergency in the Region) as well as in No. 1 of article No. 45 and Nos. 5 and 6 of article No. 46 (regional referendum), based on the violation of the principles of reservation contained in the Constitution and/or the reservations contained in the organic law;

2.2. The provisions in item c) of No. 2 of article No. 49 (principles for the preparation and organization of the budget for the Region), in item i) of No. 2 of article No. 53 (principles for the fruition of assets pertaining to the State’s public maritime domain), in items a) and b) of No. 2 of article No. 61 (workers’ rights, freedoms and guarantees), in item h) of No. 2, jointly with No. 1 of article No. 63 (legal discipline of the regulation of the Region’s media), and in item a) of No. 2 of article No. 66 (public security), all based on the violation of reservations of the competence of the sovereign institutions;

2.3. Provision No. 3 of article No. 47 (dependence upon a two thirds voting majority of regionally proposed acts concerning statutory provisions and provisions of the organic law in respect of the election of members of the Regional Parliament), based fundamentally upon the violation of the principles of the typical quality of the legislation and of the democratic criteria of the decisions taken by the collegiate bodies;

2.4. The provision in No. 2 of article No. 67 (residual clause attributing regional legislative competence to issues not identified in the Constitution or the Statute), based upon the violation, amongst others, of the principle of reservation of the Constitution;

2.5. The provision in the final part of No. 1 of article No. 44 (attributing legislative status to regional provisions that regulate legislation issued by sovereign bodies), based upon the violation of the constitutional obligation of calling upon the enabling law and of subjecting administrative rulings to the principles of lawfulness and of the typical quality of the law.