Professor Sérvulo Correia comments on the new Code of Administrative Procedure

SÉRVULO IN THE PRESS 31 Mar 2015 in Público

The new Code of Administrative Procedure (CPA - Código de Procedimento Administrativo) enters into force on April 8. On this regard the Portuguese newspaper, Público, quotes the position of Professor Sérvulo Correia on one of the main changes to come out of this reform, i.e. “the procedural conference”, which he exposed during a conference organized by the Centre for Judicial Studies (CEJ - Centro de Estudos Judiciários).

According to the newspaper, the new code foresees two kinds of conferences: deliberative ones and those of coordination. In the first case, the various entities involved in the decision come to a joint and sole conclusion, while in the second case several autonomous but simultaneous acts emerge. On this aspect, the article cites Professor Sérvulo Correia by claiming that “entities that disagree will have to justify their position. And moreover, they will have to indentify the alternative solution that will result in their agreement.”

The article goes on to further quote founding partner of SÉRVULO, who was part of the committee that drafted the bill that forms the basis of the reform of the Code of Administrative Procedure, referring that the absence of the representative of one of the entities involved in the procedure does not prevent the conference from going ahead: “Participants can meet in person or by videoconference. If one of them is not present, this does not prevent the conference from happening. It is assumed that, if the entity in question does not make a statement within a certain time frame, then it has nothing against the decision taken.”

The article also notes that the conference is convened by the entity responsible for instituting it or by interested parties. In the latter case, the competent entity has 15 days to organise the first meeting. Deliberative conferences require a previous act of institution that defines the specific modes applicable to each type of procedure.