The municipalities that comprise Médio Tejo’s Intermunicipal Community (Comunidade Intermunicipal do Médio Tejo - CIMT) regret the governmental lack of consideration involved in the entry into force of the new judicial map.
On the day the new judicial map enters into force, Médio Tejo’s Intermunicipal Community regrets the disrespectable treatment given to the region during the whole re-structuring process, considered an insult to the approximately 250 thousand inhabitants.
It is public knowledge that various measures have been taken within this scope since last November, namely:
-
- Stance taking against the discriminatory treatment in regional courts’ closure;
- Initiation of a popular action to preserve population’s interests;
- Submitting a complaint to the Ombudsman underlining the need to safeguard the fundamental right of access to justice;
- Handing over a popular action in the Administrative Supreme Court last March 17;
- Starting and promoting a petition in favour of regional courts’ non disqualification/ dissolution;
- Requesting various hearings with the competent Ministry, which restated “(...) total availability and openness from the Ministry of Justice to continue the dialogue process initiated months ago (...)” and asserted that “(...) all hearing or meeting requests will be attended, providing maximum improvement of the final version (...)”. Unfortunately, this never happened.
For all these reasons, we can only regret the government’s lack of dialogue and transparency during the process development that jeopardises, from now on, an equal treatment of all Medio Tejo’s citizens towards Justice.
Notice should be taken of region’s councillors handling over a petition in the start of the parliamentary year ahead, containing more than 5.000 signatures, copies of which will be delivered to the President of the Republic, the President of the Assembly of the Republic and the Prime-Minister.
Medio Tejo’s continuous downgrading must be stopped once and for all. The entry into force of the new judicial map represents a severe discrimination that motivates us to deepen our convictions and strengthen our efforts in order to defend all the region’s citizens.
