Constitutional Court, judgment no. 316/95, 20.06.1995

JURISDICTION: Constitutional

 

Constitutional Court, judgment no. 316/95, 20.06.1995

 

JURISDICTION: Constitutional

CASE: 412/94

SUBJECT: Constitutional appeal

RAPPORTEUR: Bravo Serra

RULING: Rejects the appeal, holding unconstitutional the norm extracted from the combined reading of Article 7(2) of Decree-Law no. 387-B/87, of 29 December 1987, and Article 1(1) of Decree-Law no. 391/88, of 26 October 1988, according to which foreigners or stateless persons are not entitled to legal aid, including legal representation, if they do not hold a valid residence permit in Portugal or if they do not reside in Portugal regularly for a period of at least one year (except if the laws of their state of nationality grant a similar right to Portuguese citizens), when they have applied unsuccessfully for asylum and wish to appeal against the decision which denied them the status of political refugee.

DOMESTIC LAW:

Portuguese Constitution (Articles 15, 20)

Law no. 41/87, of 23 December 1987

Law no. 70/93, of 29 September 1993 [Articles 2(2), 3, 7, 9, 10, 11]

Decree-Law no. 129/84, of 27 April 1984 [Article 26(1)(e)]

Decree-Law no. 267/85, of 16 July 1985 (Article 5)

Decree-Law no. 387-B/87, of 29 December 1987 (Articles 6, 7)

Decree-Law no. 391/88, of 26 October 1988 (Article 1)

INTERNATIONAL LAW: n.a.

FOREIGN LAW: n.a.

KEYWORDS: Legal aid; right to asylum; political refugee status; principle of equality; Angolan citizen; state-appointed attorney; legal representation; foreigners; stateless persons; habitual residence in the country; general principle of assimilation of foreigners and stateless persons to Portuguese citizens; universalistic vocation of the Constitution with regard to fundamental rights; human dignity; fundamental rights of foreigners and stateless persons; right to access the courts; distinctions between resident and non-resident foreigners in Portugal; prohibition of discrimination based on economic situation; social or cultural condition; valid residence permit in Portugal; state of the applicant’s nationality; rights reserved for Portuguese citizens; prohibition of denial of justice due to insufficient economic means; asylum applicant

COMMENTS: Coming soon.

REFERENCES IN THE LITERATURE:

MIRANDA, Jorge, and MEDEIROS, Rui, Constituição Portuguesa Anotada [Annotation to the Portuguese Constitution], vol. I, 2nd ed., Coimbra, Wolters Kluwer/Coimbra Editora, 2010.

 

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