“Anti-Socrates” law? PSD proposes suspension of limitation periods in case of lawyer change

The PSD submitted a proposal to parliament to prevent cases such as that of former prime minister José Sócrates, in which, due to successive changes of lawyer, some crimes of which he is accused could expire without the former prime minister being tried.

The successive resignations of lawyers who represent Joseph Socrates within the scope of Operation Marquês could put a significant part of the judicial process at risk, with the possibility of prescription of some crimes.

The most recent abandonment occurred on Tuesday, when Marco António Amaro became the .

Now, the PSD submitted a proposal to parliament for the statute of limitations for criminal proceedings to be suspended when the defense lawyer is replaced, in order to avoid delaying maneuvers.

If this proposal were already in force as law, it could even affect cases such as that of José Sócrates, who has already had four lawyers chosen by him and also several of his own in the Operation Marquês case, which is currently on trial.

At issue is a amendment to article 120 of the Penal Code which provides for the suspension of the prescription of criminal proceedings during the time the “instructional debate, hearing or act in which assistance is necessary is interrupted or postponed due to the replacement of the accused’s defender”, according to the proposal to which Lusa had access.

The diploma delivered to the Assembly of the Republic is an amendment to the Government’s proposed law to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Regulation on Procedural Costs, which is under discussion in the specialty, in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees.

Since November last year, when the lawyer For Pedro Del resigned from the defense, the court has faced successive postponements in Sócrates’ case.

At least 33 trial sessions were canceledaccording to the Public Ministry, and around 100 witnesses could have already been heard. Prosecutors accuse the former ruler of holding the process “hostage” to one that abandons the defense, causing new interruptions.