Africa-Press – Angola. Two thousand and 23 thousand cases were submitted to the guarantee jurisdiction for first interrogation at the Lubango District Court (TCL), within one year of the guarantee judge becoming a member of the Angolan legal system.
The judge of guarantees provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure, which came into force in February 2021, among several functions is responsible for the application of personal coercion measures, with emphasis on preventive detention, previously the responsibility of prosecutors from the Public Ministry, in preparatory instruction phase of the processes.
In addition to applying personal coercive measures in the preparatory investigation phase, the guarantee judge also pronounces proceedings, to better safeguard the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens.
The courts in the districts of Lubango, Matala, Caconda and Quilengues, in the province of Huíla, have had guarantee judges since 2023.
At this time, the Lubango District Court has three guarantee judges, a number that could increase in the near future with the procedural flow, taking into account that it serves the municipalities of Gambos, Chibia, Humpata and Lubango.
When speaking about the “Impact of the effectiveness of the guarantee judge” on Rádio Huíla, from the Rádio Nacional de Angola Group, the TCL guarantee judge, Tchissoca Celestino, highlighted that the aforementioned processes were interrogated and the guarantee judges apply the appropriate security measures. personal coercion.
He mentioned that they were also faced with challenges in carrying out the duties assigned to him, such as difficulties in sending files and detainees in cases occurring in the municipalities of Gambos and Chibia.
Lawyer Everdoso Rafael argues that ensuring the functions of a guarantee judge must involve greater communication between the different bodies that intervene in the process.
“We have to look at more effective communication between the PGR and the guarantee jurisdiction, as someone who is arrested because he stole cattle on Thursday in Gambos will only be heard in Lubango on Tuesday, we have examples that after that the arrest is validated,” he said.
He explained that the conjunctural basis, the difficulty in presenting the defendant, is sufficient to say that that arrest is valid, because the period has expired due to the economic, conjunctural difficulty of transport or material.
In turn, the Attorney General of the Republic placed at the instance of the TCL guarantees judge, Raquel João, believes that it is essential throughout the process not to lose sight of the real reason for the institutionalization of this figure.
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