Africa-Press – Angola. The president of the Angolan Bar Association stated, this Thursday, in Luanda, that, despite the merit of the creation of the guarantees judge, this has not yet overcome the weaknesses of the procedural system.
Speaking at the ceremony celebrating the first year of operation of this legal figure, José Luís Domingos, explained that its implementation, in many cases, has contributed to the worsening of the fragility of the situation of defendants and detainees in the country.
One of the bottlenecks, he said, has to do with geographic issues, as the guarantee judge does not work with the criminal investigation bodies, “which creates serious problems”.
He recalled that before its implementation, these powers to apply the measures were reserved to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and these are in the correctional police bodies.
“This situation regarding the implementation of the guarantee judge who works in the courts creates constraints that affect compliance with the 48-hour deadline for the detainee to be present before the guarantee judge, often due to a lack of vehicles to transport them”, he said.
Another issue, he continued, is related, fundamentally, to the need for the guarantee judge to be prepared and reserved for specialized jurisdiction.
Unfortunately, he stressed, there are non-criminal judges carrying out interrogations and applying procedural coercion measures, in other words “there are Family and Labor judges, among other jurisdictions, doing the work constitutionally reserved for guarantee judges”.
For the president, one of the fundamental guarantees for the implementation of the law is the specialization of judges.
However, he understands that it is necessary to increase the number of guarantee judges, but it seems almost “unacceptable” that they are in other jurisdictions, because this greatly endangers the dignity of those detained and puts into question the purpose of their implementation.
“We believe that we are in an embryonic phase and like everything, it needs to evolve. Implementing the increasingly stronger Rule of Law is the only way to build a country that every citizen is proud of and deserves,” she concluded.
A judge of guarantees (or of instruction as stated in the Constitution of the Republic) is one who, when the prosecutor, representing the Public Prosecutor’s Office, is carrying out the preparatory instruction, that is, when he is instructing proceedings, appears to supervise and protect the fundamental rights of those involved.
The country has 359 guarantee judges.
Approximately twenty thousand cases have been evaluated by guarantee judges, since their entry into office, in 2023, by deliberation of the Plenary of the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSMJ).
For More News And Analysis About Angola Follow Africa-Press
