Africa-Press – Cape verde. Cape Verde needs to recruit 26 more prosecutors and 60 more court officers by 2027 to reduce procedural backlogs by 92% by 2030, the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR) said today, at the opening of the judicial year.
In his speech, José Luís Landim said that in the 2015/16 judicial year the country’s courts had 102,152 cases pending, but in 2022-2023 there were 57,792, corresponding to a reduction of around 43.4%.
“ In the same period, there were entries and exits of bailiffs, but there continues to be a deficit ”, he lamented.
And he mentioned that in the 20/30 strategic debate in the justice, peace and social peace sector, it was agreed that it is necessary to recruit 26 prosecutors and 60 bailiffs from 2022 to 2027, to achieve a reduction in pending cases by 90% by 2026 and 92% by 2030.
Noting that 13 assistant public prosecutors and 31 bailiffs were recently recruited, José Luís Landim understood that the goal of reducing pending cases is possible, as long as magistrates and bailiffs have the conditions they request.
The act that marks the official opening of the judicial year was presided over by the President of the Republic, José Maria Neves, and was attended by the highest authorities in the sector in the country, diplomatic corps, magistrates, lawyers, civil society representatives and the Minister of Justice , Joana Rosa.
Speaking to journalists at the end of the ceremony, the minister said that there are “ obvious gains ”, but also challenges in the sector, which are being worked on to reduce procedural pending issues and to provide better conditions for judicial operators.
“ And work so that we can all combat the evil of Justice, which is slowness ”, understood Joana Rosa, indicating several ongoing measures and solutions, such as the implementation of the Justice Information System (SIJ), reforms in judicial inspection laws , adapting the structures of superior councils and having more human and material resources.
“ Therefore, there are several challenges that we still have, but there is already a political will, there are already gains this year in the number of magistrates and assistants that we have in the two magistracies [Judicial and Public Ministry]”, he stated .
The minister mentioned that a plan to reduce procedural issues in the country is underway, with objectives and targets, and reported on the Government’s “ effort ”, both financial and organizational, to improve the justice system.
In the 2022-2023 judicial year, the report from the Superior Council of the Public Ministry revealed that the courts and judges of first instance processed 24,442 cases, of which 12,454 were civil and 11,988 criminal cases, 717 more than in the previous year.
During this period, 14,282 cases were filed in the country’s district courts, 42% of civil nature and 58% of criminal nature, an increase of 5.2% compared to the previous year.
According to the same document, in the 2022-2023 judicial year, 8,294 new criminal cases were filed and 13,291 (54.4%) were resolved, a decrease of 2.2%. The Week with Lusa
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