Lisbon,July 25, 2025 (Lusa) - The authorities extended the deadline they had set - 30 June - for creating a room at Lisbon airport where a judge can hear foreign citizens detained at the border in person.
In March, the Superior Council of Magistrates (CSM) indicated that the room would be operational by the “end of the first half of this year” and that a judge from the Lisbon Minor Offences Court would handle it.
When Lusa asked this week why this facility was not included in the current movement of judges, which will come into effect on 1 September, the body responsible for managing judges acknowledged that the room had not opened as it was still under construction.
“The completion of this project continues to depend on the finalisation of the necessary works, which fall outside the responsibility of the CSM,” claimed the body, which the president of the Supreme Court of Justice heads.
The CSM added that, “to date,” it had yet to receive “any forecast for the completion date” of the space, which will operate next to the international zone of Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon.
“As soon as the courtroom is operational, the CSM will appoint a judge to ensure that the duties provided for in this context are carried out,” it concluded.
The Lisbon Minor Offences Court has jurisdiction to decide which measures to apply to foreign nationals detained at the border, and it currently operates exclusively at the Lisbon Justice Campus, located about three kilometres from the airport.
In March, the CSM clarified that the measure is part of the work that the working group of this body and the United Nations Refugee Agency have developed to “implement solutions that strengthen the protection of human rights.”
Currently, authorities rarely hear foreigners detained during border procedures in person.
“The Portuguese State must ensure that it will hear all detainees in person, to observe their fundamental rights. The state will guarantee this by creating a space at the airport to conduct such hearings, a solution that works within the legal and operational constraints on moving detainees to court,” it explained.
Contacted by Lusa, an official source from ANA - Aeroportos de Portugal clarified that the company limited its authorisation to the PSP carrying out work in the room in question, with the PSP handling all other aspects of the process.
IB/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
