The Minister of Justice assumed this Wednesday that the Government’s proposal to use the databases of telecommunications operators as an alternative to the metadata law is currently the “possible solution” without ruling out another framework in the future.

Speaking to Lusa on the sidelines of the renewal of the Exchange of Signatures and Names, at the National Register of Collective Persons of the Instituto dos Registos e Notariado (IRN), in Lisbon, Catarina Sarmento e Castro highlighted the legal limitations at the European level and guaranteed to understand the criticism from the national director of the Judicial Police (PJ), Luís Neves, who, on the 15th, considered the bill “short for the future” and should be considered transitory.

We are all, deep down, thinking the same thing. At the moment, this solution presented by the Government —in the working group in which the PJ also participated— is the possible solution in this framework, which is the European framework. It does not mean that, eventually, at the European level there may not be adjustments one day, but at the moment it is the possible framework and surely the parliament will make its way”, he said.

Catarina Sarmento e Castro also highlighted the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), issued on September 20, which confirmed the illegality of the “generalized and undifferentiated” conservation of traffic or location data, allowing, however, a “selective and/or rapid conservation” in the fight against serious crime. The European ruling came about as a result of doubts expressed by the German Supreme Administrative Court.

“There was a very recent European decision that, in fact, shows that the path indicated by the Government is the possible path at this time”, the minister observed, reiterating: “At this time, in the face of the European framework and the constitutional framework, that is the possible framework”.

In Portugal, the Constitutional Court (TC) considered, in April, unconstitutional rules of the metadata law that determine that telephone and internet service providers must keep data related to customer communications, including origin, destination , the date and time, the type of equipment, and the location. – for a period of one year, for eventual use in the criminal investigation.

To respond to this ruling, a government bill was presented, as well as the PSD, Chega and PCP bills on the same subject, which were discussed in the specialty without a vote on June 3.

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has already said that he will ask the TC for a preventive inspection of the new law that will be approved by Parliament.

The minister says that the proposal for a new statute for bailiffs “is underway”

The review of the professional statute for the bailiffs’ career “is underway,” the Minister of Justice assured on Wednesday, without wanting to compromise a date for the presentation of the document.

“This is a process that is underway.. In the tours that I have done around the country I have been speaking in the courts with the officials and it is a process that is on the table. The Secretary of State is in talks on this issue so that we can finally see this statute approved,” Catarina Sarmento e Castro told Lusa.

The official reiterated that the work to define the document “is in progress” and expressed her respect for the “right to strike of all workers”, after two days of strike in the sector earlier this month and the announcement of new stoppages in the courts. for early October.

Asked about a deadline for the presentation of the new statute for the professional career of bailiffs, Catarina Sarmento e Castro refused to set a date: “These things have their own times, including legislative and the publication of proposed statutes. They have their moment, but it’s passing.”.

Among the main requirements of the bailiff career are the provision of vacant positions, the opening of promotion procedures and access to all categories with available positions, the inclusion in the salary (with retroactivity to 2021) of the procedural recovery complement , the regulation of access to the early retirement system and the presentation of a proposal for a new professional statute.