Rui Costa Pereira (Senior Associate) writes an opinion article for Advocatus by ECO in which he comments on the Regulation of Situations of Alteration, Reduction or Suspension of the Distribution of Cases.

"In the light of the Constitution, as the CSM (Conselho Superior da Magistradura) has rightly pointed out, citizens are guaranteed the fundamental right that no case (or "cause", in the constitutional text) should be "withdrawn" from the court whose jurisdiction is fixed by previous law. From this follows, among other things, the requirement that the law must define which court has jurisdiction to decide on the case. To leave to third parties - other than the legislator - or on a basis not previously delimited, which court will have jurisdiction, would be to pave the way for arbitrariness and thus to remove any guarantee of impartiality."

Read the article here.