Foreword

Justice sector performance is critical for achieving economic growth, citizen well-being and, more broadly, the Sustainable Development Goals. In recognition of its importance, Portugal has embarked on an ambitious agenda to guide the transformation of its justice sector.

As part of the OECD Initiative on Access to Justice for Inclusive Growth, this report takes stock of the Portuguese government’s efforts to enhance the performance of the justice sector. It identifies results achieved so far, and it makes policy recommendations to support Portugal in providing justice services that meet the needs of citizens and businesses. In examining the Portuguese justice sector, the report draws on a set of OECD criteria for people-centred legal and justice service delivery, as well as on OECD work on regulatory and administrative simplification and digital government.

Building on several decades of reform, Portugal’s current efforts – notably the Justiça + Próxima and Simplex + programmes – focus on making the justice sector more transparent, accessible and effective, by simplifying and dematerialising procedures and promoting innovation. As an example, the “Tribunal +” project and its pilot, the Court of Sintra, highlight how Portugal makes the most of digital technologies to transform courts. Portugal is one of the few countries adopting an integrated approach to making the justice sector more citizen-centred, through administrative simplification, improved services and digital strategies.

The report suggests ways to enhance further service integration, systems’ interoperability and use of data, and procedural simplification and alignment. It formulates recommendations to promote the effectiveness and sustainability of the current reforms; these include strengthening co-operation and streamlining interactions across public agencies, for example through a shared vision of transformation and shared resources. Finally, the report highlights Portugal’s strong potential for building on existing reforms to develop a comprehensive justice strategy across the different branches of power.