Africa-Press – Angola. The Angolan Bar Association (OAA) decided to hold a national meeting soon on the current situation and challenges of justice in the country, with a view to improving the functioning of the sector.
The deliberation came out of the extraordinary general meeting of the OAA held Saturday, in the city of Huambo, which appreciated the current state of justice and the role of advocacy.
According to the statement, the future national meeting will include the participation of other justice institutions, with a view to jointly analyzing the current state and challenges, as well as outlining strategies for improving the sector, with a view to guaranteeing the citizens’ fundamental rights and the consolidation of the democratic State based on the rule of law.
On the occasion, the chairman of the OAA, Luís Paulo Monteiro, ensured that all conditions were created for the meeting to be held as soon as possible, in order to find solutions to improve the provision of justice in the country.
According to the official, there are several situations that concern lawyers that, after being analyzed in an extraordinary general meeting, it was understood that they need to be discussed in a forum that involves other actors of the Angolan judicial system.
Among the concerns, the chairman pointed out the non-application of some legal instruments, the need to reinforce the dialogue between the institutions of justice, so that the main problems of the sector are effectively analyzed, such as procedural delays, the lack of conditions in the courts , and process delays.
He referred that the country is experiencing a blatant moment of lack of ethics in the judiciary sector, which requires exemplary leaders, in addition to the lack of functioning of the supervisory bodies.
On the role of advocacy, he admitted that the quality of services provided by professionals was not yet desired, imposing the need to improve the mechanisms of action.
To this end, he said that issues of training, ethics, arbitration and professional behavior will be reinforced, to make the profession stronger.
Proceedings against lawyers
During the meeting, the chairman made it known that, annually, an average of 100 complaints are filed against lawyers regarding violations of the deontological duties committed by them.
This number, according to the chairman, has grown, above all, with the implementation, in the last two years, of the functioning of the Ethics and Discipline Commission, which has accompanied the performance of professionals and the complaints of its constituents.
On the other hand, he added that the organization currently monitors 19,650 legal assistance processes, of which only 1,900 have been completed in the last two years, due to the slowness and functioning of the courts.
It ensured the existence of financial resources for the payment of lawyers, within the scope of providing legal assistance.
The conclave urged the President of the Republic, in his capacity as the Nation’s Highest Magistrate, to invite the President of the Supreme Court and of the Superior Council of the Judiciary Magistracy, to present his letter of resignation, until the investigations of the processes that weigh on him are completed. , without prejudice to the principle of the presumption of innocence that assists him.
And in the event that there is no success, the OAA promises to file a precautionary measure, as a judicial procedure.
The same, which was attended by more than 400 lawyers, including interns, was preceded by the holding of the ordinary general meeting that analyzed and approved the accounts reports for 2021 and 2022. The OAA controls 10 thousand affiliates, of which five thousand
500 permanent ballot holders.
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