“Although some lawyers missed the schedule, this is a common situation (even when there are no cases, there are always some absences) and it did not generate any consequences,” states a report from the Directorate-General for Justice Administration (DGAJ).
On this second day of the protest called by the Bar Association to demand a revision of the fee schedule for court-appointed lawyers, there were “no postponed proceedings,” it adds.
The districts that have in-person schedules for court-appointed lawyers are Lisbon, North Lisbon, West Lisbon, and Porto.
According to the Bar Association, the adherence to the court-appointed defense protest is at 83%, with 1,487 professionals registered in the September schedules, 7,435 fewer than last year.
According to data released on Monday by the Bar Association, “at this moment, about 68 municipalities in the country do not have lawyers available for schedules during September, and 32 municipalities have only one lawyer.”
The protesting lawyers demand a revision of the fee schedule for court-appointed defenses – a service provided to disadvantaged citizens without means to hire a private lawyer – arguing that the schedule has not been revised for almost 20 years and that the values are “out of touch with reality.”
For example, the unitary reference value for payment of the schedule is set at 26.73 euros, which is the amount a lawyer receives for a legal consultation, “before taxes,” the Bar Association president emphasized.
In the case of a criminal process in a single-judge court, a lawyer receives eight reference units for the entire process, that is, 213.84 euros, regardless of the duration of the case, the total number of proceedings carried out, and only after the final judgment, which means that the lawyer may wait years to receive their fees, excluding travel expenses.
The Bar Association believes that the protest may have consequences throughout September, postponing various proceedings, but rejects that defendants’ rights and guarantees may be at risk, emphasizing that they will always have the right to defense, even if the proceeding has to be rescheduled. In case of non-compliance with deadlines for judicial interrogations, leading to the release of detained defendants, this is something that “happens every day in courts” due to situations such as judicial staff strikes.
The Bar Association wants an increase of 20 million in the next State Budget for court-appointed defenses and “a clear signal” from the Government that the revision of the schedule “is not to be further delayed,” considering it a bad sign that the next meeting has been scheduled for October 9, the eve of the budget submission to parliament.
The Ministry of Justice assured that “it has been paying attention to this issue from the beginning, but is doing its homework” and that “when it has reached a conclusion, it will certainly inform the interested parties and the public opinion.”
