The Attorney General of the Republic, Amadeu Guerra, is finalizing a directive that will define clear rules for the actions of the Public Ministry whenever a preventive investigation is opened. The document aims to ensure that all prosecutors follow the same criteria and procedures, avoiding divergent interpretations in similar cases. The measure comes at a time when, for more than eight months, a preventive investigation into Spinumviva, a company owned by the family of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, has been taking place.
According to the Expressthis will be the third directive issued this year by Amadeu Guerra and should establish that, once archived, preventive investigations can no longer be consulted. In practice, this rule prevents scrutiny of the work of the Public Prosecutor’s Office when it concludes that there is not enough evidence to proceed with a criminal investigation. The exception only applies to situations in which the preventive investigation gives rise to an investigation, at which point the rules of the Criminal Procedure Code come into force, which allow access to the files by those targeted, journalists and anyone with a legitimate interest.
The proximity of the outcome of the Spinumviva case fuels the political and legal debate around the directive. Quoted by Expresso, Ana Gomes, who filed a complaint about the Montenegro company, considers that the PGR is “preparing to archive the process” and accuses it of “limiting public scrutiny”.
Amadeu Guerra’s office argues that the directive only aims to guarantee uniform procedures and falls within the powers attributed to him by law. “As the application of the law has given rise to questions regarding the interpretation of legal norms, it is important to guarantee the adoption of uniform procedures, which are not limited to the aspects mentioned, with the directive having a broader scope”, said a PGR source to the weekly.
However, a prosecutor heard by Expresso states that the rule could be illegal. At issue may be a violation of article 14 of law 36/94, the diploma that created the concept of “preventive actions” — now called “preventive investigations” — as measures to combat corruption and economic crime. “In everything that is not specifically regulated in this diploma, the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure are subsidiarily applicable”, reads this article. “Which means that the access rules provided for criminal investigations will have to be applied”, explains the magistrate to the newspaper.