Africa-Press – Angola. The Luanda Court of Appeal has suspended a decision by the Angolan Bar Association (OAA) which declared the simultaneous practice of law with the role of member of the judiciary incompatible, according to a ruling released.
The court ruled in favor of the precautionary measure filed by a group of lawyers registered with the OAA and who serve as members of the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSMJ) and the Superior Council of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (CSMMP).
According to the ruling, the appeals court judges found the precautionary measure against the OAA to be admissible and ordered the suspension of the effectiveness of the decision that declared the simultaneous practice of law and the holding of functions as a member of the CSMJ and CSMMP to be incompatible.
In the now suspended deliberation, dated late September 2024, the OAA stated that this accumulation of functions compromises fundamental principles such as independence, impartiality and integrity, affecting “confidence in justice”.
The OAA established a period of thirty days for lawyers in a situation of incompatibility to communicate the suspension of their activity or resign from their position as a member, “under penalty of administrative suspension”.
The complaining lawyers considered, in their precautionary measure, that the Constitution and the law do not establish any incompatibility between the functions of a member of the higher councils and the practice of law and that the Order “does not have the power to create legal norms that impose limitations on the practice of law”.
For the court, the OAA’s decision “does not specifically comply” with the rules of interpretation of the law enshrined in the Civil Code and the Law on Advocacy, highlighting that the rules invoked by the Order “are aimed at protecting the dignity, independence and impartiality of the legal profession and no other”.
Lusa contacted the management of the Angolan Bar Association, which postponed a response until Friday.
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