Association of Judges of Angola considers that the list of judicial magistrates for training in Portugal, made by the president of the Superior Council of the Judiciary, “is illegal”, and admits to challenging the act.
The decision is challenged in a letter sent to the plenary of the Superior Council for the Judiciary (CSMJ) with the heading “Complaint of the act of the President of the Superior Council for the Judiciary (CSMJ) that indicates judicial magistrates for the frequency of training”, made public and to which Lusa had access this Tuesday (22.12).
The Association of Judges of Angola (AJA) claims to have found, after an extraordinary meeting that analyzed the matter, that the act of the President of the Supreme Court and, by inherent role, of the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSMJ), Joel Leonardo, “It is not anchored or makes any mention of an act of the plenary session of the Superior Council for the Judiciary (CSMJ) in which the referred indication had been dealt with”.
Thus, considers the Association of Judges of Angola (AJA), the decision “calls into question not only the individual interests of other judicial magistrates interested in training but also discredits the image of the judiciary, whose performance must be guided by strict criteria legality, objectivity, and transparency ”.
“Strong signs of deprecating legality”
In a letter recently made public, the presiding advising judge of the Superior Council for the Judiciary (CSMJ), Joel Leonardo, sent the Attorney General of the Republic of Angola a nominal list of six judges for training in Portugal.
Angolan judges appointed for this training are Daniel Modesto Geraldes, Antónia Kilombo José Damião, Joaquim Fernando Salombongo, Pedro Nazaré Pascoal, Amélia Jumbila Isaú Leonardo Machado and Nazaré Sílvio Inácio António.
For the Association of Judges of Angola (AJA), the letter contains “strong indications of deprecation of legality”, inasmuch as it “not only makes no mention of the existence of any resolution of the plenary of the Superior Council of the Judiciary ( CSMJ) ”, as well as“ does not indicate the criteria ”that led to the appointment of the judges.
“Immediate revocation”
The president of the Superior Council for the Judiciary (CSMJ), observes the Association of Judges of Angola (AJA), has his own powers, and may also have powers delegated by the plenary, under the terms of the law, mentioning, however, that this decision “does not fall within the scope of their own competences or those that can be delegated to them ”.
Thus, the Association of Judges of Angola (AJA) requires the plenary of the Superior Council for the Judiciary (CSMJ) to “immediately revoke” the act of the President of the Superior Council for the Judiciary (CSMJ), “because it is illegal, without prejudice come to activate, within a period not exceeding 72 hours, the judicial mechanisms necessary for the suspension and subsequent challenge ”of the decision.
In this letter, dated December 21, 2020 and signed by the president of the Association of Judges of Angola (AJA), Adalberto Gonçalves, the association also claims to have urged, last April, the president of the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSMJ) to that the necessary measures be taken so that the performance of the different bodies would obey the legal frameworks.
