Africa-Press – Angola. The consecration of the judge of guarantees in the legal system was the dominant theme of the first tripartite provincial conference on Angolan criminal procedure, which gathered Wednesday, in Lobito, Benguela, more than two hundred people.
As one of the novelties of the Criminal Procedure Code of 2020, the figure of the guarantee judge will take office on May 2nd of this year, according to the resolution of the 3rd extraordinary session of the plenary of the Superior Council of the Judiciary, on March 6, 2023 .
Among the various functions, it is responsible for applying personal coercive measures, such as preventive detention, until then, the responsibility of the public prosecutor, in the preparatory instruction phase of the processes.
Judges, state prosecutors, lawyers, defense and security bodies, and academics also debated on “The role of the Constitutional Court and the processing of extraordinary appeals of unconstitutionality”.
“The main legal instruments in the Angolan legal system for combating corruption”, “The relationship between judges, prosecutors and lawyers” and “Public security and the guarantee of defendants in criminal proceedings” are other topics discussed at the tripartite conference between the Council Benguela Provincial Office of the Angolan Bar Association (OAA), the Lobito District Court and the Attorney General’s Office.
An initiative of the Benguela Provincial Council of the Angolan Bar Association (OAA), the conference aimed to reinforce and improve the level of knowledge of justice and law professionals regarding responses to the needs of citizens in this segment.
Among the lecturers at the meeting, the presence of the venerable judge and president of the Constitutional Court, Laurinda Cardoso, lawyer Sérgio Raimundo, the deputy attorney general of the Republic, Núria Viegas, and the provincial commander of the National Police, commissioner Aristófanes dos Santos.
By the way, the president of the Benguela Provincial Council of the OAA, José Faria, considered that the meeting exceeded expectations and the results should be applied by the institutions of the administration of justice, as they will have an impact on the life of the citizen.
The official highlighted that the tripartite conference intended to reflect the interventions of the bodies essential to the administration of justice, for the consolidation of the democratic rule of law and the realization of justice in the name of the people.
José Faria believes that it is only possible to carry out justice with independent judges, lawyers and prosecutors, as well as with defense and security bodies.
For him, the tripartite provincial conference was a clear sign of closer cooperation between these essential institutions in the administration of justice in Benguela province.
Regarding the topics discussed, he stressed that they helped to reflect and reaffirm that we live in a country where citizens need to trust the institutions that administer justice and gain awareness of respect for their duties, rights, freedoms and guarantees.
Likewise, he highlighted the need to reflect all the inherent rights and prerogatives of professionals in the forum, namely the decorum, the ethics required of all these professionals, as well as the security and legal certainty of judicial decisions.
He also took the opportunity to express the OAA Council’s solidarity with all lawyers and other professionals who have been victims of aggression to their personal and professional honor by actors in the administration of justice, especially those who intervene in the context of legal representation as constitutionally guaranteed right.
In turn, the presiding judge of the Court of the Comarca of Lobito, Pascoal Francisco, sees the event as an important milestone for his area of jurisdiction, as it allows bringing together judges, prosecutors, lawyers, academics and various personalities of the country for the production of technical and scientific interpretations and opinions about criminal procedure.
That is why he praised the vision of the OAA Provincial Council of Benguela to promote reflection, updating and training of operators and scholars of justice and law, which directly or indirectly contributes to improving the provision of criminal justice services in the region.
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