Deputy of the Superior Council of the Judiciary says that in a few months there could be a court for immigration and asylum

The vice-president of the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSM) believes that it is possible to have “in a few months” a court specializing in immigration and asylum, arguing that it can speed up the resolution of cases and alleviate the pressure Current information on the courts.

“In a few months we could have this situation. The CSM, by its own means, and the Superior Council of Administrative and Fiscal Courts [CSTAF] have already adopted special means, that is, the organization of judges especially assigned to this type of processes. Now, we will be able to do it better, with organization and legal and structural framework provided by a new type of court, as already exists in some European countries”, Luís Azevedo Mendes told Lusa.

The idea appears in the Action Plan for Migration presented by the Government on Monday and the CSM deputy praises its adoption, highlighting the overload on administrative courts with requests for subpoena from the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) to regularize the situation of immigrants, whose pending cases amount to close to 400 thousand, also extending its effects on the judicial courts.

“Requests are coming in, around 100 per day, and it is, therefore, an overwhelming situation for the administrative courts, but which also puts pressure on the judicial courts, in terms of validation of the detentions of asylum seekers, and, later, in the problems of reception and family integration, in which the family judge and minors are involved”, explained the judge advisor and deputy of the management body and discipline of judges.

Considering that “this structure can help speed up” the processing of processes, Azevedo Mendes anticipated that the Executive’s measures, by restricting access to expressions of interest, will lead to an accumulation of immigrants in irregular situation and that this translates into greater pressure on the courts.

“All exit/expulsion decision situations will have to be decided by a court. Therefore, we are talking about a set of situations that will put a lot of pressure on the courts and which advise that a specific court be created for immigration and asylum, which can combine in an innovative way everything that is administrative jurisdiction – under the CSTAF – and judicial courts, under the CSM”, observe.

According to the CSM deputy, among the main advantages of having a specialized court on these matters is the possibility of bringing together in a single structure various social supports for migrants, such as translators, experts or lawyers.

He also highlighted that this “is the time” to move forward, remembering that immigration and asylum laws “will have to be changed following the approval by the European Parliament last month, of the Pact for Migration” and that the creation of this body must also be approved by the Assembly of the Republic.

“Whoever is going to stay, stays; whoever is going to leave, leaves immediately and is not putting pressure on the street – as is clearly visible to everyone -, nor putting pressure on the Social Security reception structures , which are currently scarce and do not arrive. The delay and inefficiency of the system results in expense, it is too expensive if we do not deal with things seriously and efficiently”, he said.