Rita Alarcão Júdice shared the data during a visit to the works of the new center in Vila do Conde do CEJ, district of Porto. The governor pointed out that the increase in vacancies was also due to the increase in demandconsidering that “the judiciary continues to be attractive”.
The Minister of Justice, Rita Alarcão Júdice, announced this Tuesday a record number of 215 vacancies for the training of magistrates, in the for the academic year 2026/27.
The government official shared the data during a visit to the works of the new CEJ hub in Vila do Conde, in the district of Porto, which should come into operation in September this year, speaking of a “joint effort by the Ministry of Justice, the CEJ and the Vila do Conde Chamber”.
“We are planning 215 vacancies. In 2024/25 we had 135 vacancies [181 em 2025/26] and our idea is to have this increase in the 2026/27 academic year”, said the minister.
Rita Alarcão Júdice said that, for the new CEJ hub in Vila do Conde is expected to open 65 vacancieswith the The remainder will be completed at the CEJ facilities in Lisbon.
“Decentralizing the training of judges was the solution we implemented, and it proved to be proven. We had twice as many candidates this year, also due to changes to the CEJ rules”, he shared.
The governor pointed out that the increase in vacancies was also due to the increase in demandconsidering that “the judiciary continues to be attractive”.
“It is a pleasure to realize that this career is attractive to younger generations. We seek to have good judges, young and committed to their training”, he pointed out.
Rita Alarcão Júdice spoke at a “great achievement for the North [do país]” for having a CEJ hub operating in Vila do Conde, on the premises of a former convent, provided by the City Council.
“It’s a great achievement and I think it’s good for everyone, not only for auditors but also for trainers, as well as for future training”, he added.
The idea was shared by Edgar Taborda Lopes, judge and director of the CEJ, who highlighted the training of more magistrates.
“It is essential that there are more magistrates”
The person responsible considered “it is essential that there are more magistrates” and with training more suited to the challenges they will face in their career.
“The important thing is that they graduate with quality training. This is what guarantees that the Portuguese can have increasingly higher quality justice. And that is what the judicial centers intend to work on”, said the judge.
Edgar Taborda Lopes confessed that he would like to have more vacancies than the 215, but recognized that “there is always a consideration of costs and logistics”, devaluing there being more vacancies in Lisbon than in the Vila do Conde hub.
“Resources are scarce, so quality in training is the essential point. They must be particularly well trained to face all the challenges that today presents us at all levels. The processes are increasingly demanding and complicated”, he added.
Currently, the Vila do Conde hub is operating in temporary facilities, but the mayor of the northern city believes that in September/October the renovation works at Convento do Carmo will be completedin an investment of 1.7 million euros, from the Ministry of Justice.
“The Vila do Conde Chamber understands that local authorities are also part of the State and have this function. We willingly made this space available and contributed, I believe, in a decisive way to make this Government’s wish come true”, said Vítor Costa.
The president of the Vila-Condense municipality shared that the Chamber “functions as the owner of the work, but the investment belongs to the Ministry“.
“We don’t understand that local authorities are taskmasters. We are part of this partnership”, he added.
The Convento do Carmo, a century-old building in the riverside area of Vila do Conde, is being extensively rehabilitated to accommodate the North Pole of the CEJ, with four training rooms, offices and administrative and multipurpose spaces.
