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The transition to a democratic Portuguese judicial system: (delaying) changes in the legal culture*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2016

João Paulo Dias
João Paulo Dias*
Affiliation:
Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal. Email: jpdias@ces.uc.pt;
*
Email: jpdias@ces.uc.pt
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Abstract

The Revolution of 25 April 1974 had a strong impact on justice in Portugal. Initially, it can be said that there was evidence of a process of democratisation involving the judicial structures, together with effective improvements to conditions allowing for independent and autonomous professional performance. However, in analysing the course of judicial reforms, it can be seen that changes took place more on a legislative level than in terms of the performance of the courts, proving that the evolution of the judicial system still demands a change of the legal culture. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to reflect on the evolution of the legal architecture in Portugal, seeking to determine whether the transition to a democratic judicial system is complete or whether, on the contrary, we are still faced with the process of justice in transition, delaying any changes in the current legal culture.

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Law in Context , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , March 2016 , pp. 24 - 41
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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Footnotes

*

This paper was written within the framework of a broader research project entitled ‘Who are our magistrates? A professional characterisation of judges and public prosecutors in Portugal’, supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (PTDC/CPJ-JUR/100390/2008 | FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-009210). In terms of rights and duties, judges and public prosecutors are two separate but parallel judicial professions in Portugal. In addition to carrying out a survey of judges and public prosecutors, the project also analysed the evolution of judicial reforms in Portugal during the last forty years, aiming to understand the complex interactions between politics and justice. This is the focus of the present paper.

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