The Portuguese Government today approved the creation of a court dedicated exclusively to immigration and asylum matters. This decision was based on a proposal from the High Council of the Judiciary (CSM) and aims to address the legal challenges associated with immigration in Portugal in a more efficient and specialised way.
The intention is for this court to focus exclusively on immigration and asylum matters. In the future, it may be extended to other Portuguese cities as needed.
Broad and specialised jurisdiction
This court will be responsible for a wide range of cases, including:
- Detention and expulsion of migrants: dealing with cases where deportation or detention of individuals without permission to remain in the country is required.
- Cases involving minors: handling cases involving unaccompanied minors or minors accompanied by adults whose family relationship is unclear.
- Administrative asylum and residence proceedings: ranging from asylum applications to residence permits, typical of the administrative courts.
Responding to the backlog of pending cases
The creation of this court comes in response to an alarming situation. The Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA), which replaced SEF (the Immigration and Borders Service), is currently facing a backlog of around 400,000 pending cases. This backlog reflects the complexity and growing volume of immigration and asylum cases.
There are approximately 3,200 immigration and asylum court cases awaiting resolution. This “dramatic situation” underlines the urgent need for a more focused and efficient approach.
A specialised approach to a complex challenge
The creation of the Immigration and Asylum Court is a structured response to the complexities of the Portuguese immigration system. By specialising exclusively in these cases, the court is expected to improve efficiency and fairness in handling immigration and asylum cases, providing faster and fairer outcomes for those involved.
This specialised court should also ease the burden on the general administrative courts, allowing them to focus on other critical areas of law.
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