Source: http://www.justpamalam.co.uk/mpjf/Supreme_Court_31_01_2017.htm
Timestamp: 2018-01-16 20:50:52
Document Index: 102423598

Matched Legal Cases: ['art. 483', 'art. 484', 'art.44', 'art. 484', 'art. 26', 'art. 70', 'art. 79', 'art. 484', 'art. 180', 'art. 26', 'art. 37', 'art. 38', 'art. 12', 'art. 29', 'art.8', 'art. 10', 'art. 8', 'art. 10', 'art. 335', 'art. 18', 'art. 8', 'art. 10', 'art. 10', 'Art. 449', 'art. 771', 'art. 696', 'art. 10', 'art. 10', 'art. 10', 'art. 32', 'art. 287', 'art. 278', 'art. 279', 'art 74', 'art. 3', 'art. 5', 'art.12', 'art. 335']

This information belongs to the Ministerio Publico in Portimao, Portugal.
Translation and Notes by Anne Guedes
PJGA for PDF doc
STJ site document: Freedom of expression and honor constitute two fundamental rights
58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 STJ
The first instance's judgement concluded that the book written by Gonçalo Amaral, the adaptation of this book for a documentary and the interview of the same defendant were illicit, according to article 484° of the CC 1 and that were verified the other assumptions legally binding the compensation foreseen in CC's art. 483°, wherefore the requests expressed in the lawsuit were considered partly proceeding in the terms mentioned above.
Note 01 The Portuguese Civil Code.
This kind of view is, moreover, evident in the final conclusions of the book when the author himself says : For me and for detective inspectors who worked with me on the case up to October 2007, the results we have reached are as follows:
The interview given by Gonçalo Amaral to the newspaper CdM 2 and published in the edition of July 24, 2008 is a way to advertise the book and therefore the thesis developed in it. Here the defendant reaffirms that thesis in so many answers as questions put to him : 1° the girl died in the apartment 2° the testimonies of Jane Tanner and Kate McCann are not credible 3° there are clues of crime simulation 4° there was concealment of the body (n° 48).
The daily newspaper Correio da Manhã is from now on named “CdM”.
The legal protection of such rights of the claimants is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 3, of which the article 12° states that no one will suffer, among others, attacks upon one's honour and reputation, stipulating that against such attacks anyone is entitled to the protection of the law.
Note 03 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
Also from the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (4) results the protection of both rights.
The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is currently shortened in the Convention or the European Convention on Human Rights.
In order to avoid any possible confusion, in English, between European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and European Convention on Human Rights (as well ECHR), the first will be alluded to as ECHR, while the second will be named by its shortened forms (see above)
Note 06 The Constitution of the Portuguese Republic will be mentioned as CRP.
Link to the CRP in English
Link to the CRP in French
From this same jurisprudence one retains that in contrast to the traditional current of the Portuguese higher courts, this court does not accept, in principle, the priority of the right to honour and good over the freedom of expression/freedom of the press [are examples of this traditional line, among others, the STJ's Rulings (7) of February 14 2002 and March 7 2002 reported in reviews n° 3379/01 and 184/02, of the 1st and 7th sections].
Supreme Court of Justice.
Note 09 The Public Ministry site was remodelled in February. There is an English version (http://en.ministeriopublico.pt/) and, more specifically a page dedicated to the Advisary Council
(http://www.ministeriopublico.pt/pagina/conselho-consultivo-da-procuradoria-geral-da-republica), only in Portuguese, where are gathered all the recommendations of that consultative body (public access).
Having been in charge of that investigation as a member of the Judicial Police, the defendant Gonçalo Amaral, although retired on July 1 2008, did not enjoy, on the following July 24, in respect of the outcome of the criminal investigation released on the 21st of the same month and year, a large and full freedom of expression.
It was not what happened and the truth is that, on July 24 2008, scant three days after the release of the dispatch shelving the investigation for lack of proof, the book was launched, sold with the newspaper’s edition, and the interview was published.
In this form of resolving the conflict between the rights is revealed the illegality of the conduct of the defendant Gonçalo Amaral in respect of the effects of article 484° of the CC.
In disagreement with this judgement, the defendants 1°, 2° and 3° (10) lodged an appeal against it.
The Lisbon Appeal Court granted those requests and revoked the appealed decision, judging the lawsuit unfounded concerning the appellants and acquitting them of all the requests. Their allegations were expressed in the following way :
In terms of personality rights, article 26°-1 of the CRP states that the rights to a person’s good name and reputation are recognised, as well as protection of the intimacy of private and family life..
The same fundamental law protects with equal dignity freedom of expression, stating in article 37°-1 that everyone has the right to freely express and disclose their thought...
The TV Channel TVI didn’t.
...through speech, via image or by any other means, as well as the right to inform, to look for information and to be informed without hindrance or discrimination.
Freedom of the press is established under article 38°-2, concerning freedom of expression and creativity for journalists and collaborators.
Article 18°-2 establishes, in the event of a conflict between fundamental rights, that legal restrictions on these rights are limited to the need of preserving other constitutionally protected rights or interests.
For its part, the ordinary law enshrines in article 70° of the CC, as a principle, that the law protects individuals against unlawful offence or threat of offence to their physical or moral integrity, while according to article 80° of the CC everyone must maintain discretion about someone else’s intimacy of private life.
In case of conflict of equal rights or of the same species, the holders of these rights must, in terms of article 335°-1, assign to the extent necessary for all rights to take effect without major damage for any of them. Article 335°-2 states that, all rights being uneven or of different species, prevails the one that has to be considered higher.
Thus, as the dominant jurisprudence understands :
"One of the limitations to freedom of information, which therefore is not an absolute right, is the preservation of the right to a good name. Journalists, media, are bound by ethical, professional duties, rigour and objectivity.
– It is up to the media's right, social function, to broadcast news and express opinions, critical or not, the importance being that they do so with respect for the truth and the intangible rights of others, as personality rights.
– The right to honour, in a broader sense, and the right to freedom of press and opinion are traditional occasions of conflict.
– Criticism is limited by the rights of the targeted person, but does not stop being legitimate when being trenchant and sharp but not offensive, because that is often the style of writers.
– Criticising implies banning ; censorship conveyed by the media only stops being legitimate as a manifestation of individual freedom when it expresses objective anti-juridicity, violating the most personal rights and affecting, more or less lastingly...
... according to people's memory, values which must be preserved as the rights here at stake to honour, good name and social reputation. (ruling of the STJ dated 20/01/2010, www.dgsi.pt)
In the case before us, besides the reporting of the facts that are part of the investigation into the disappearance of the minor Madeleine McCann, the analysis of the book and other published matter shows that the now first appellant sustains the thesis that there was no kidnapping, but accidental death of the child, followed by a cover-up - concealment of the body and kidnapping simulation – by the applicants Gerald and Kate McCann, now the respondent party .
It results from the above-mentioned publication that evidence elements and clues it reports to are essentially those referred and documented in the respective criminal investigation.
Not withstanding, the exposed thesis, according to which the minor died accidentally and the parents hid the fact, spreading the kidnapping hypothesis in order to deceive, is not new, since it is also in the report referred to at n° 9 of the proven facts, having determined the constitution of the respondent party as arguidos and having been made public by the media after the digitalisation of the investigation files was provided ( n°s 65 and 66 of the proven facts).
As determined by the appeal ruling heard in this section regarding the appended injunction, the first appellant intended through (his book) to outline his vision of the facts, once the institution to which he belonged (the PJ) did not allow him, as a professional police officer in a criminal investigation, to respond to attacks against its expertise and honour. We must therefore consider the publication of the book as reflecting the legitimate exercise of the right to opinion.
And it results from what has been proven that, besides the facts at stake were abundantly engraved in the investigation and even made public at the instigation of the Republic Attorney General, the respondents are the ones who, taking advantage of an easy access, multiplied interviews and interventions in the national and international media, so that the conclusion is they themselves voluntarily limited their rights to discretion and intimacy of private life.
By this kind of proceeding, they opened the way for anyone to equally express their view on the case, contradicting their theory – without doing anything but practicing...
… a lawful and constitutionally sanctioned right to opinion and freedom of expression of their thoughts.
Moreover, we do not see how the right of the respondents to enjoy, after their constitution as “arguidos", the guarantees of a criminal trial – including the right to a fair investigation and the right to liberty and security - could be affected by the content of a book that essentially describes and interprets facts that are part of an investigation the contents of which have been made public.
Although they were not considered sufficient to elicit criminal charges, nothing prevents such facts of being subject to various assessments, especially in a literary kind of work.
Therefore, and as rights are enshrined namely in articles 37° and 38° of the CRP, the publication in question has to be considered legitimate.
The appealed decision, however, reckons that the first (here) appellant, Gonçalo Amaral, because he coordinated the criminal investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann until 2/10/2007, remained, even after his retirement on 1/07/2008, subject to the duties of silence and reserve, regularly imposed on officers of the Judicial Police in activity.
Under such terms, and despite the personal reasons given in the prologue of the book, the appellant, in case of collision with the rights to good name and reputation of the respondents, would not enjoy the full and complete freedom of expression concerning the investigation's conclusions, his conduct being deemed unlawful under Article 484° of the CC.
From what has been said above on this subject, it is clear that the expounded arguments are not worth considering.
Indeed, irrespective of the reasons given by the appellant for publication, it is hardly understandable that a civil servant, even more a retired one, should carry on his silence and reserve duties, thus limiting the exercise of his right to opinion as to the interpretation of facts already made public by the judicial authority and widely discussed (actually largely at the instigation of the protagonists themselves) in national and international media.
In the absence of the appealed decision's first presupposition, it must be concluded, against it, to the lack of eligibility of any of the respondent party's demands - remaining without effect the re-assessment of the material facts, secondarily requested
These proven facts were established in the first instance lawsuit where the five members of the McCann family were claimants. In this instance's sentence the requests of the three McCann children were dismissed. Their parents could have lodged an appeal on their behalf, but they chose not to. Hence in the judgement by the Appeal Court Kate and Gerald McCann were the only respondents.
...between the McCann couple and their friends, and other phone numbers, which have shown to be related to events of May 3 2007 evening, the minutes are delivered to the Judge of Criminal Investigation (JCI)”. (12)
11. In page 3170 of the criminal investigation, on 3/12/2007, the JCI of Portimão issued a decree in which he stated particularly this:
"Since the investigation, in these autos, concerns the practice of kidnapping, homicide, exposure or abandonment and concealment of corpse, the first three crimes being punished with a sentence of more than 3 years imprisonment, and since it seems convenient to identify the person who exhibited suspicious behaviour in the vicinity of the place where the child disappeared from, as mentioned in statements of folios 3150, 3154 and sq, the data requested by the public prosecutor being thus very important to discover the truth, I order (...) the soliciting telecommunications operator Portugal Telecom.".
12. The defendant Gonçalo Amaral was, until 2/10/2007, the PJ inspector in charge of coordinating the investigation into the disappearance of the applicant Madeleine McCann.
13. The defendant GA is retired from the PJ since 1/7/2008 (n° 19).
14. On 21/7/2008, the Republic General Prosecutor informed through a "note for the social communication" that the investigation mentioned in 5. would be shelved and could be reopened at the instigation of the Public Ministry or at the request of any interested party, if new evidence brought forth serious, relevant and consistent inquiries (n° 20).
15. The archiving dispatch concerning the criminal investigation, issued the 21/7/2008 by the prosecutor, says in particular this :
"Taking into account that certain points in the formal suspects' ('arguidos') and witnesses' statements revealed contradiction, at least apparently, or lacked physical confirmation, it was decided to carry out the "reconstitution of the fact", an operation that is consecrated in article 150 of the Penal Process Code (CPP) (13) in the sense of duly clarifying, on the very location of the facts, the very important following details, among others :1) The physical, real and effective proximity between Jane Tanner, Gerald McCann and Jeremy Wilkins, at the moment when the first person walked by them, and which coincided with the sighting of the supposed suspect, carrying a child. From our perspective it is strange that neither Gerald McCann nor Jeremy Wilkins...
The penal process is divided in 3 phases, the first, mandatory, being the criminal investigation. It is taken in charge by various police forces, directed by the Public Ministry, the PM itself being under the control of a criminal inquiry judge. The second phase is the criminal inquiry. It is not mandatory and has to be requested either by the arguido(s), by the assistant(s) of the process or by a senior magistrate, but never by the Public Ministry. This phase, a kind of recourse against the criminal investigation, is orchestrated by the criminal inquiry judge and culminates in a crucial contradictory debate. Neither the McCann couple nor the "hierarchy" requested the criminal inquiry phase, a manner of agreeing with the conclusions of the criminal investigation. The last phase is eventually the judgement.
The Penal Process Code (http://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=199&tabela=leis)
... saw her, or the alleged abductor, despite the exiguity of the space and the tranquillity of the area.
2) The situation concerning the window to the bedroom where Madeleine slept, together with the twins, which was open, according to Kate. It has seemed necessary to clarify if there was a draught, since movement of the curtains and pressure under the bedroom door are mentioned, which, eventually, could be verified through the reconstitution.
3) The establishment of a timeline and of a line of effective checking on the minors that were left alone in the apartments, given that, if it is believed that such checking was as tight as the witnesses and the assisted witnesses describe it, it would be, at least, very difficult to reunite conditions for the introduction of an abductor in the residence and the posterior exit of said abductor with a child, particularly through a reduced width window. It is added that the supposed abductor could only pass, through that window, holding the minor in a different position (vertical) from the one that witness Jane Tanner saw (horizontal).
4) What happened during the time lapse between approximately 6.45/7 p.m. - the time at which Madeleine was seen for the last time in the apartment by a different person (David Payne) from her parents or siblings - and the time at which the disappearance is reported by Kate Healy - at around 10 p.m.
While the fact that Madeleine disappeared from apartment 5A of the resort Ocean Club is inescapable, the manner and circumstances under which this happened are unknown - despite the numerous diligences made on that purpose -, therefore the range of crimes that were conjectured and referred to during the investigation remains untouched (...)
Concerning the other surmised crimes (16), they are no more than that and in spite of our perception that, due to its high degree of probability, the occurrence of a homicide cannot be discarded, such cannot be more than a mere supposition, due to the lack of supporting elements in the files.
It appears that the non involvement of the parents, assisted witnesses, in any penally relevant action stems from the objective circumstances of them not being inside the apartment when Madeleine disappeared, from the normal behaviour that they displayed until said disappearance and afterwards, as can be amply concluded from witness statements, from the telephone communications analysis and also from the forensics' conclusions, namely the reports from the (Birmingham) Forensic Science Service (FSS) and from the National Institute for Legal Medicine.
To this should be added that in fact none of the clues that led to their constitution as “arguidos" was later confirmed or consolidated. Let's judge it: the information concerning a previous alert of the media before the police was not confirmed, the residues that were marked by the dogs were not corroborated in laboratory, and the initial indications from the above transcribed email (17) better examined afterwards, that ended up appearing to be inconclusive.
Even if hypothesising that Gerald and Kate McCann might be responsible over the child's death, it would still have to be explained how, where, when, with what means, with whose help and where to they freed themselves of her body within the restricted...
An "arguido" is a formal suspect, against whom certain supported elements exist, but who is endowed with the presumption of innocence, a principal that here is fully realised. This status is attributed, in order to establish the material truth, on suggestion of the police by the Public Ministry which assumes the responsibility of doing do. The arguido (a) has, it is mandatory, to be assisted by a lawyer. In French an arguido is a "témoin assisté".
Note 15 The fact that, according to Pamela F, a child, possibly MMC, had cried during more than an hour on May 1
Note 16 "crimes that aren't associated to neglect”.
The email on the preliminary DNA analysis by the FSS of the samples collected in the car hired by the MCs
... time frame that would have been available for them to do so. Their daily routine, until the 3rd of May, had been circumscribed to the narrow borders of the Ocean Club resort and to the beach next to it, unknowing the surrounding and, apart from the English friends that were with them on holiday, they had no known friends or contacts in Portugal (…)
In spite of all this, it was not possible to obtain any evidence that would allow for a average man, enlightened by criteria of logics, of norms and of the general rules of experience, to formulate any lucid, sensate, serious and honest conclusion about the circumstances under which the child was removed from the apartment (whether dead or alive, whether killed in a neglectful homicide or an intended homicide, whether the victim of a targeted or opportunistic abduction), nor even to produce a consistent prognosis about her destiny and inclusively – and that's the most dramatic - to establish whether she is still alive or, as it seems the more likely, she is dead.
Therefore, everything having been examined, analysed and duly pondered, considering what is left exposed, we determined the archiving of the autos concerning the (by lawyer) assisted witnesses Gerald Patrick McCann and Kate Marie Healy, due to the lack of clues of their practising any crime”.
16. The defendant Guerra & Paz, Editores SA is a commercial company whose objective is namely editing, publishing and trading books, import and export included.
17. On 10/03/2008, defendants Guerra & Paz, Editores SA and Gonçalo Amaral celebrated a written agreement (attached at pp. 277-281), referred to as "copyright transfer contract", in terms of which the defendant GA yields to defendant G&P for a period of ten years, the exclusivity of copyrights of the book Maddie - a Verdade da Mentira in printed or electronic form, in any language ​​and in the whole world.
18. The 4a -1 clause of the agreement is worded as follows :
"The remuneration to be paid by the first contractor to the second contractor, for copyrights associated with editions of his book commercialised in Portugal, will be : a) 12 % of the selling price for each copy sold (VAT excluded) up to 30.000 copies b) 14 % of the selling price for each copy sold (VAT excluded)...
… from 30.001 to 50.000 copies c) 16% of the selling price for each copy sold (VAT excluded) from 50.001 on".
19. 5a-2 clause of the agreement is worded as follows :
"If the first contractor sells the copy rights of the book in other languages ​​in any country, the liquid income of this sale, net of costs directly related to the sale transaction, will be shared between the first and second contractors in equal parts, i.e 50% for each".
20. The defendant Gonçalo Amaral is the author of the book Maddie - A Verdade da Mentira, published by the defendant Guerra & Paz, Editores SA.
21. On the cover of the book stands, in red, the word "confidential" and on the 4th cover it reads "Reserved reading" and "contains unique revelations".
22. The data sheet of the book (p. 4) says namely this : "Review: Fernanda Abreu. Cover and pagination : Ilidio J.B. Vasco. Photography author : Sandra Sousa Santos © Guerra & Paz, Editores SA. 2008. All rights reserved. © Cofina media for photographs and info engraving, developed by Nuno Costa."
23. Is part of "Maddie – A Verdade da Mentira" particularly the following prologue:
This book is rooted in the need I felt to restore my reputation, which has been undermined in the public arena, without the institution to which I have belonged for 26 years, the Portuguese Judicial Police, allowing me to defend myself or to do it institutionally. I asked permission to speak in this sense, that request remained unanswered. I strictly followed the rules of the PJ and I kept silent. This, however, lacerated my dignity.
Later I was removed from the investigation. I realised then that the time had come to defend myself publicly.
To achieve this, I immediately asked an early retirement, in order to regain the fullness of my freedom of expression.
This book has yet another major objective. That of contributing to the discovery of material truth so that justice is done in an investigation known as "The Maddie Case". These are the fundamental values to which I subscribed by imperative of conscience,..
...conviction and discipline regarding the institution to which I was proud to belong. My retirement will not extinguish these values, they'll go on being present in my life.
This book does not question the work of my colleagues in the police or compromise the ongoing investigation. It is my profound understanding that revealing all the facts, in this type of work, could jeopardise future operations, critical for the discovery of the truth. However, readers will discover data that they ignore, interpretations of facts - always in the light of law - and, of course, relevant questions.
A criminal investigation compromises only with the search for material truth.
It should not be concerned about political correctness. (pp. 11-12) (…)
Many things were told so far - truths and lies - and there was, apart from the duty to provide information, disinformation campaigns aimed at discrediting the criminal investigation in development and those who were responsible for it. For me the investigation ceased to exist on October 2, 2007, when it appeared to have outweighed a new English ultimatum on the day of the summit on the Lisbon Treaty, so nothing surprised me more. The previous day I had attended an nth media spectacle, the ultimate forcing to the thesis of the kidnapping with the disclosure by the McCann family of a sketch of a suspected abductor. Nothing surprises me anymore.
- Do not pay attention. It's carnival.
We continued our convenient conversation, but I felt that my world had like collapsed for good.
After hanging up, I spotted again the almond trees, planted in the hard Algarvian ground, a soil that could have influenced the corpse concealment strategy and, I thought, wouldn't God have dashed in making them bloom in winter ? (p.16) (...)
An investigation destined for shelving.
I have a feeling that with this statement, the national director intends to prepare the public opinion for the inevitable, i.e for the end of the investigation and the shelving of the case. That seemed to be the strategy adopted on October 2 2007, which was consolidated with the execution of tasks to fulfil the calendar, a bit "for the English see". I feared immediately for the present investigation to be questioned...
...so as to facilitate a possible shelving. This investigation had come to undermine the image of the PJ, its inspectors and Portugal, and that's why perhaps it had to be discontinued.
The constitution of Kate Healy and Gerald McCann, Madeleine's parents, as “arguidos" should have marked a turnaround in the relationship among the police forces and the couple. If, on the Portuguese police side, the break occurred, it seems that the same cannot be said of the English police. There was an agreement between the two police forces to move forward in an investigation that was seriously considering the possibility that the child died in the apartment, but suddenly the English police veered without consistent technical explanation - as we shall see further. We have always found it odd the way the couple were treated, even after they got their arguido status, and their eventual access to police information.
I see the mentally investigation, the memories gush cascaded.
I think mainly of this child about to be 4 years old, who all of a sudden was denied the right to existence, to become a woman, to a life of happiness and potential success in the company of her family and her friends, that was abruptly lost. Nothing makes sense. It seems that smothering the facts by decreasing the strength of any clue is being in preparation, forgetting the rights of this child and of others too. But who wants such an outcome ? Who demanded my removal from the operational coordination of the investigation ? Who wants to end the status of the McCanns and Murat as assisted witnesses ? Those who insist on the thesis of the kidnapping ? Those who claimed, and later I will say who they are, that people were arrested for much less in England ? Or those who persist in lying, forgetting the search for the material truth ? The possible shelving of the investigation and the end of the searches certainly favour someone.
After leaving Portimão, October 2, 2007, I decided to forget this case. It was perhaps better, given the powers that seemed to be involved.
If the authorities of the native country of the child are unwilling to know what happened to her, feeding the thesis of the kidnapping, why should I be concerned ? This is not the inopportune (or induced by the journalist) remark of a police director (24) that will erase the existing evidence (it was not the intent as well), our work is set in the stone of the autos. Would those be destroyed in order to erase what has been done, even then, we still have our memories and the memories of those who have carried out with us at arm's length the arduous task of trying to find the material truth ( pp.19-20) (…)
Yes, a child has died. And I do not say it by value judgment, but by deduction based on the collection of information, hints and proven facts contained in the autos. (p.21) (...)
The caution of a decision
In Portimao I meet Chief Inspector Tavares de Almeida, who was part of the team which I coordinated.
We have known each other since we entered the PJ. The words of the national director worry him, he speaks of an investigation request, already filed with the national director of the PJ. He says the investigation of our work will restore the truth.
During the five months investigation, we heard a little of everything , but we have done our job.
We remember what we have done, the efforts and, honestly, we are not sure that others could have done better. This is not self-sufficiency, it is confidence in the rigour of the work of all police officers involved.
– Look ! These people (18), do they know how to sum things up ? How can one speak of precipitation when the McCann became assisted witnesses four months after the facts ? Do not they know the principle of non-self-incrimination ?
He was referring to the legal prohibition to take the testimony of a person as a witness to the point where that person might let know facts that would eventually incriminate them. In other words, when someone is about to make statements on a specific case and when, at some point, it appears that this person might be involved or responsible for the practice of an unlawful act, this person has to be made "arguido(a)". So are preserved the rights and duties of citizens. Curiously, and contrary to what we see very often in the press, especially in the English media, the arguido status protects the (by lawyer) assisted witnesses, since they can keep silent and thus avoid making false statements - as in the case of a simple witness.
– I agree with you. If errors were made in this investigation, the delay in changing the status of the McCanns is one of them. There was too much politics and not enough police.
– Well, I wouldn't go that far. The error was to treat the couple "with tweezers". Remember how very soon we saw that many things did not fit and that the McCanns were entitled to privileges. That is not normal ! (p.23)
One could imagine that GA is referring to the unfortunate words (the British police was following the MC instead of maintaining a critical distance) that motivated, matter of diplomacy, his dismissal of the case by the national director of the PJ, Alípio Ribeiro, but no, he evokes the suggestion of a precipitate 'arguido' status made by the latter to the journalist of the daily Público on 02/02/2008) i.e 4 months later.
– Maybe the national director thinks that the McCanns left the Algarve because of the arguido status.
– They stayed in the Algarve as long as the abduction thesis was talked about... When this thesis was questioned , they immediately started talking about returning to England.
– Hence we can conclude that the arguido status was only a pretext to abandon the country.
– You know, there are British journalists who believed that Portugal was a country of the third world ... I did not agree and I have not changed my mind, however only in countries of the third world the head of a ongoing criminal investigation is removed whereas he was not implicated by the investigation that he led.
– There is much talk of governmentalization of justice ... we forget how influence can affect any criminal investigation can be influenced...
- It's easy ... Trustful police officers are made responsible for the investigation... Then, if things go wrong, the responsible ones are replaced ...
– I don't think it was the fundamental reason, but ...
– There are always valid and legal elements ... Finally. The only obstacle to the management of the investigation, almost political ... are the senior leaders of the police forces.
They must confront bad situations and contrary to the interests of the investigation. They may not agree with everything on the sole purpose of staying on to power ...
– My friend ... People do not direct the police forces for personal interest ... They lead in the pursuit of the public interest. This is the only way to understand the role of the police in a democratic State of law.
-- But think for a while ! We can get to the point where only officers agreed by the arguidos will be in charge of some investigations ... It could be a question of 'modernity ' .
During a relaxation moment in one of these meetings (27), I would have committed a gaffe or, who knows, been inconvenient and undiplomatic. Concerned with the possibility that the McCann couple might be, in one way or another, involved in the disappearance of their daughter, and as I reckoned the types of crimes that could be imputed to them, a fact came to my mind. Were the responsibility of McCann actually confirmed, then the crime of fraud or breach of trust concerning the fund created to search for Madeleine,...
29. Within the scope of the injunction attached there were only around 7.000 copies of the book delivered to the applicants legal representative
68. The claimants Kate and Gerald McCann gave an interview to the North-American TV program “Oprah" hosted by Oprah Winfrey, revealing the existence of new witnesses, reconstructions (19) and e-fits.
"Reconstituições", in the original document, is here translated "reconstructions", since this is what is meant. In Inquisitorial Justice Systems a reconstitution aims to recreate an event with the proper protagonists, in an attempt for the police forces to understand what happened. It is quite different in Adversary Justice Systems where a reconstruction is the re-enacting of an event with actors and in front of cameras in order to jog the memories of the public.
84. Sean and Amelie McCann entered the school in August 2010 without knowledge of the defendant's thesis referred to above. (n°17) (20)
Unproven Facts (the proven facts started on p.19)
All those n° refer to the inquiry data basis.
… but like an activity protected by national and international rights, the assertion and diffusion of the thesis proclaimed urbi et orbi (21) by the respondents not even fitting in the scope of possible criticism of this conduct.
Terms in which, and in the more of Law that Your Excellencies surely supply, always in view of the replacement of the very righteous sentence now revoked by virtue of the TRL's judgement (22),
Tribunal da Relação de Lisboa, Appeal Court http://www.trl.mj.pt/inicio/home.php
2.3. The respondent Guerra & Paz Editores SA, counter-argued, concluding in the following terms :
A. At stake in the present minutes is the book Maddie, the Truth of the Lie written by the respondent GA and published by the respondent Guerra & Paz, Editores SA. The publishing contract was celebrated on 10/3/2008, the book being published on the 24/7 of the same year.
B. Circulate on the Internet, without the authorization of the respondent, an English version and a Portuguese version of the book at issue in the present case, and a version of the documentary, with English subtitles. As well as a full copy of the criminal process.
C. The action that originated these proceedings and of which the respondent is a party was also brought against TVI-Televisão Independente SA, which was acquitted by the first instance judgment, that has already become res judicata (final judgement) on this point.
D. In other words, the appellants accepted the acquittal in the first instance of the defendant TVI-Televisão Independente SA which had broadcast twice a documentary based on the book written by the respondent Gonçalo Amaral and published by the now respondent Guerra & Paz Editores SA and, consequently, they accepted that such defendant could broadcast the documentary and divulge in some way the thesis of the book.
E. With the exception of paragraph a) of the request formulated in the action, all other paragraphs are addressed to all defendants of the action, including TVI-Televisão Independente SA, therefore the appellants do not care if the defendant TVI-Televisão Independente SA practices the facts that they intended to beware of with the present action, but concerning the respondent and others they do.
F. With the acceptance of the acquittal of the defendant TVI-Televisão Independente SA, the present appeal that seeks to sue the respondents Gonçalo Amaral, Guerra & Paz Editores SA and Valentim de Carvalho-Filmes e Audiovisuais SA, con-substantiates the abuse of rights foreseen in article 334° of the CC and implies the groundlessness of the present appeal.
G. We live in a democratic State of Law, based on pluralism of expression, which guarantees freedom of thought and free disclosure, besides the fact that we must all contribute to the enrichment of culture through the publication of books and documentaries.
H. As it is undisputed that the appellants have achieved notoriety and fame in Portugal and around the world, it is not possible that they grant interviews to the media, even in the intimacy of their home, when it is favourable, and then forbid the publication of books...
… or comments, even on publicly known facts, when they feel those might be unfavourable.
I. Thus the sphere of private life of the claimants, as much through their notoriety as through their option, can only be considered reduced, especially according to the terms and effects of the contents of Article 80°-2 of the CC.
J. The appellants maintain to the same extent the dignity of the human person, the good name and reputation and the presumption of innocence which they had before and after the publication of the book in question.
K. There is a chronology and succession of public and notorious facts that cannot be omitted, that are reflected in the factuality given as proven in the enumeration of the appealed judgement and also in the filing dispatch included therein.
L. Since the disappearance of the child, up to this date, the appellants have publicised their opinion on the facts, though these are still unknown today.
M. As well as the appellants, every citizen has the right to have an opinion on the facts and to publicize it.
N. The rights to freedom of expression and information and the right to freedom of the press and social communication media are enshrined in articles 37° and 38° of the CRP.
O. And further, the right to freedom of expression is enshrined in Articles 19° of the UDHR and 10° of the European Convention on Human Rights.
P. Contrary to the claim of the appellants, various decisions of the ECHR, that can be consulted, have come to condemn the Portuguese Courts of Law for violating the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press by condemning journalists and other citizens for defamation.
Q. The ECHR considers that the right to freedom of expression is one of the essential foundations of a democratic society.
R. The STJ in Portugal has also delivered judgments that value the right to freedom of expression, to the detriment of other rights.
S. In view of the exposed elements, there can be no doubt that the right to freedom of expression and the right to freedom of the press are fundamental in a democratic State of Law.
T. As stated, it was the appellants themselves who freely and conscientiously chose to make public facts that besides cannot be considered from private and family life.
U. The request for protective injunctions of the appellants' personality rights petitioned are not suitable for the purpose at stake, besides of being illegal.
V. And could only be applied after detailed analysis to verify, case by case, if they are legal, appropriate and proportionate to the specific case and who are the recipients thereof, which is forbidden to that Court.
W- The present minutes are composed of two different actions with different values. The respondent G&P is part of an action with a value of € 30,000,01, whereby this is the value of the costs paid by the party whose claim is rejected.
X. The uttered judgment must be maintained in its precise terms, at risk of violating, namely, the
Articles 13°, 20°, 37°, 38° and 42° of the CRP
Articles 5°, 158°and 615° of the CFC (sic, likely CPC, Codigo de Processo Civil)
Articles 334° and 335° of the CC
Article 19° of the UDHR
Article 10° of the European Convention on Human Rights
2.4. It can be verified that the divergence found in the decisions of the instances consists essentially in the following :
- the first instance found that the defendant Gonçalo Amaral, for having been responsible for the criminal investigation as a member of the PJ, although, meanwhile, he retired, couldn't enjoy full and complete freedom of expression, since the functions he was in charge of imposed on him, in particular, the reserve duty, wherefore that freedom having to yield to this duty, his conduct was unlawful in virtue of the art. 484°of the CC.
- the second instance took the view that this argumentation could not be upheld, inasmuch "it would be hardly understandable that a civil servant, even more a retired one, should carry on his silence and reserve duties, thus limiting the exercise of his right to opinion as to the interpretation of facts already made public by the judicial authority and widely discussed, actually largely at the instigation of the protagonists themselves, in national and international media", imposing himself to consider...
... the publication of the book in question as revealing the legitimate exercise of right to opinion.
The appelants, in the conclusion of their claim for review, despite alluding to their claim to have the sentence of the first instance reinstated, did not make any express reference to the question of the alleged reserve duty of the defendant Gonçalo Amaral, to which, according the same judgement, freedom of speech should give in, which constitutes the cornerstone of the entire construction leading to the conclusion that the conduct of that defendant was illicit, by virtue of art.44° of the CC.
That thesis, as we have already seen, was not welcomed by the TRL (Appeal Court). So, what the appelants claim is that, in order to subsume the fact to the special provision of illegality of the aforementioned art. 484°, enough is the affirmed or disclosed fact to be capable, taking into account the circumstances of the case, of undermining the prestige of someone or the good reputation enjoyed by someone in the social environment.
So much more, they add, when innocent and cleared citizens are concerned (via the filing dispatch of the criminal proceedings), who are anyhow entitled to benefit of the principle of innocence presumption.
Furthermore, they claim that free speech, in a society of primacy of law, such as the Portuguese one, does not contain in itself any guarantee particularly powerful and incompressible, its regime not overlapping with the personality rights called by the appellants in the minutes. It should therefore yield to them, with a view to ensuring greater constitutional objectives.
The central question that must be considered in this present appeal is how to resolve the conflict between the rights of claimants Kate and Gerald McCann, now appellants, to good name and reputation, and the rights of the defendants Gonçalo Amaral, Guerra & Paz Editores SA and Valentim de Carvalho-Filmes e Audiovisuais SA, now respondents, to freedom of expression and information, and to freedom of the press and media.
That question implies the formulation of the following question: must the conduct of the respondents be regarded as unlawful, for besmirching the honour of the appellants ?
As the outcome of what has been exposed above, freedom of expression and honor constitute two fundamental rights that, given its relevance, deserved a constitutional consecration.
A broad conception of honour is approved, encompassing the various meanings which are legally recognized to this concept : the Constitution safeguards the "good name and reputation" (art. 26°-1), the CC welcomes the "moral personality" (art. 70°-1), "honor or reputation or simple decorum" (art. 79°-3) and the "credit or good name" (art. 484°) ; the CPP protects "honour or consideration" (art. 180° sq).
Thereby, the art. 26°-1 of the CRP welcomes the right to good name and reputation, which, according to Gomes Canotilho and Vital Moreira, in the CRP annotated , Vol. 1, 4th ed., p. 466, consists essentially in the right not to be offended or harmed in one's honour, dignity or social consideration by imputation made by others, as well as the right to defend oneself of this offense and to obtain a relevant reparation.
For its part, the article 37° of the CRP recognizes two sets of rights - the right to expression of thought and the right to information. The right to expression is, straight away, freedom of expression, that is to say the right not to be prevented from expressing oneself and to spread ideas and opinions.
According to those distinguished constitutionalists, op.cit. p. 572, the regime of the right to expression of thought and the right to information is, in the juridical-constitutional perspective, essentially identical. The normative scope of freedom of expression should be as broad as possible to include opinions, ideas, points of view, convictions, criticism, stances, value judgements on any matter or issue (political, economic, gastronomic, astrological questions), and whatever are the purposes (influence of public opinion, commercial objectives) and the criteria of appraisal (truth, justice, beauty, rational, emotional, cognitive, etc.).
Thus, while the aforementioned art. 37° regulates the freedoms and rights of expression and information in general, the art. 38° deals with these rights when exercised through
the press and other mass media.
In this way, freedom of the press is only a qualification of freedom of expression and information intended for the public.
That is why the first shares the entire constitutional regime of the latter.
The honour and freedom of expression are also enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR - art. 12° and 19°, the art. 29°-2 establishing the criterion of...
... harmonization of the various rights) and in the European Convention on Human Rights
(art.8° and 10°).
Although the STJ has already understood, in particular in the judgements of 30/06/11 and of 1914/16 (in www.dgsi.pt), that the ECHR does not protect, in general, the right to honor, referring it only as possible integral part of the restrictions to freedom of expression mentioned in the quoted art. 10°-2, the jurisprudence of the ECHR considers that from respect for privacy enshrined in article 8° of the ECHR emerges a right to protection of reputation (cf. the following cases : Petrina vs Romania (78060/01), Abeberry vs France (58729/00) and Leempoel SA. ED Cine Revuc vs Belgium (64722/01), cited in the above mentioned Judgement of the Lisbon Appeal Court of 14/02/12, and, more recently, the cases Medipress-Sociedade Jornalística,Ldt. Vs Portugal (55442/12) and Tavares de Almeida Fernandes e Almeida Fernandes vs Portugal (31566/13).
In these last two cases, the decisions of which date, respectively of 30/08/16 and 17/01/17, it was considered that whenever the Court has to rule on a conflict between the two mentioned rights, which are also protected by the Convention, it must take stock of the interests at stake, from the point of view of art. 8° as well as from the point of view of art. 10°, since those two rights deserve, a priori, an equal respect.
It should be noted that, in the civil and legal sphere, the art. 335° of the CC states that the concrete resolution of a conflict of rights with identical value requires its harmonization,
seeking to optimize them so that each one can produce its best effects.
However, since there is a collision of fundamental rights, the conflict can not be solved by the principle of equal treatment. It is necessary to weigh the interests concerned in order to determine which needs more protection in the case at stake.
In the present case we are, clearly, facing rights belonging to the category of personal rights freedoms and guarantees, being then applicable their specific regime, namely the one provided in art. 18° of the CRP, more precisely what is expected in the 2nd paragraph, according to which:
The law may only restrict rights, freedoms and guarantees in cases expressly provided for in the Constitution. The restrictions being limited to what is necessary to safeguard other constitutionally protected rights or interests.
The mentioned 2nd paragraph thus gave clear constitutional haven to the principle of proportionality, also called principle of prohibition of excess, which, according to Gomes Canotilho and Vital Moreira. op. cit. p. 392-3, is divided into three sub-principles: the principle of adequacy (the restrictive measures of rights, freedoms and guarantees should prove to be an appropriate means for the pursuit of the contemplated purposes, safeguarding other constitutionally protected rights or assets), the principle of liability (such restrictive measures must be required in order to achieve the objectives in view of the fact that the legislator does not have other less restrictive means to achieve the same objective), the principle of fairness or proportionality in the strict sense (disproportionate, excessive measures will not be adopted to achieve the intended objectives).
Likewise one can see the Ruling n° 634/93 of the Constitutional Court of 4/11/93.
In the light of the Constitution, freedom of expression and honour have the same legal value, turning impossible any principle of abstract hierarchy among them (Gomes Canotilho, Constitutional Law and Constitutional Theory, Coimbra, 2003, pp. 1225 and 1237).
It is therefore appropriate to use the principle of practical concordance or harmonization that obstructs a solution sacrificing a right in relation to the other and forces to the existence of constraints and mutual conditioning, with the aim of reaching a solution of harmony or practical agreement between both (see article 18°-2,3).
However, as it is impossible to reach a solution of harmonization in order to obtain a fair solution to the collision of rights, positive aspects will have to be counterbalanced, followed by a balancing methodology adapted to the specificity of the case (norm of decision in situation, in the words of Gomes Canotilho, op. cit. p. 1237).
This is why the conflict resolution cannot fail to take on a concrete nature, exhausting itself in each case it resolves.
In fact, settling the conflict in the abstract would imply a prioritized hierarchy of rights constitutionally inadmissible.
As it is known in modern democratic States of Law, like Portugal, the conflict between freedom of expression and honour is a classic issue.
Particularly when those involved are public figures and a matter of public interest is involved.
The concrete resolution of the conflict between freedom of expression and honour of public figures, in the European legal context, where we are inserted, takes place under the influence of the European jurisprudential paradigm of human rights.
In this way, the ECHR interpreting and applying the European Convention on Human Rights has defended and developed a doctrine of enhanced protection of freedom of expression, in particular when the person targeted by imputation of facts and formulation of dishonourable value judgments is a public figure, the issue being a question of political or public interest in general.
As Francisco Teixeira da Mota points out in "The European Court of Human Rights and Freedom of Expression - the Portuguese Cases", p. 89 : Though the European Convention on Human Rights doesn't add many rights to those already contained in our Portuguese Constitution, its ratification by Portugal is a significant milestone for a number of reasons, among which stands out the fact that Portugal joined a juridico-cultural community which values and upholds human rights and the fact that its citizens have now direct access to international (European) mechanisms of protection of those rights.
It has been understood, between us, both at the doctrinal and jurisprudential level, that the ECHR occupies an infra-constitutional position, its application in internal order being therefore dependent on conformity to the precepts of our fundamental law and that has a supra-legal value, so that the internal laws, posterior to a internally received treaty, that contravene the provisions of their orders will not, to that extent, be able to be applied by the courts (Rui Moura Ramos, "The European Convention on Human Rights - Its Position on the Portuguese Legal System" and "Implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights - Some Problems", in Documentation and Comparative Law – BMJ, 1980 and 1983 respectively).
The national judges are, in this way, linked to the European Convention on Human Rights, since, having been ratified and published, it constitutes a national law which as such must be interpreted and applied, in constitutional terms, over domestic law (art. 8° of the CRP).
Moreover, under article 16°-2 of the CRP, the constitutional and legal precepts related to the fundamental rights must be interpreted and integrated in accordance with the UDHR.
As António Henriques Gaspar, current Judge-Counselor President of the STJ refers in The Influence of the European Convention of Human Rights in the Interjurisdictional Dialogue, the National Perspective or the Other Side of the Mirror, intervention in the Colloquium on the occasion of the Commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the validity of the Convention in Portugal - STJ, 10/11/08, published in Revista Julgar, n° 07, p. 39, In spite of the limited terms of direct linking, the decisions of the ECHR, when interpreting the provisions of the Convention, must have a 'specific authority' which is imposed on all States by the so-called "autorité de la chose interprétée" (res interpretata authority) : the ECHR's function is "to clarify, safeguard and develop" the Convention's norms, helping to ensure that States respect the commitments assumed under the Convention entailment.
In such a way that the interpretation by the ECHR of conventional norms must be considered as integrating the Convention itself. The principle of entailment can be found in the wording of articles 1° and 19° which preside over the entire European Convention of Human Rights.
Thus, national judges, when interpreting and applying the Convention, as first-line conventional judges, must take into account the methodological references and interpretations and the jurisprudence of the ECHR as the proper instrument of conventional regulation.
It has to be reckoned that, according to the opinion of the national judges assembled for reflection and consultation (cf. Avis n°9, 2006, of the Conseil Consultatif des juges européens, on the function of national judges in the effective application of international and European law), the case-law of the ECHR must be for all judges a reference in the process of elaborating a body of European law.
On the other hand, on 28/1/03, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe(EC) through the Recommendation 1589 (2003) reiterated to the Committee of Ministers, among other measures, the necessity to turn public the data related to the monitoring of the exercise of freedom of expression in member and candidate countries and the necessity for member states to incorporate the ECHR jurisprudence in the field of freedom of expression in their internal legislation and to ensure the appropriate training of the judges.
Nevertheless, as it is obvious, taking into consideration the case-law of the ECHR is not acceptance by imposition, but rather an intellectual imperative, that implies analysis and balancing, from which the outcome may be acceptance but also divergence.
In fact, the judges judge only according to the Constitution and the law, not having entailment of any kind, except the duty of compliance by lower courts of the decisions proclaimed, on appeal, by higher courts.
Paraphrasing the current Judge Counsellor President of the STJ, op. cit. p.44, The dialogue and the interaction between the European instance and the national instances has to assume, on the part of those, a position of great openness and the assumption of a culture of judicial cosmopolitism.
Which, nevertheless, does not fail to alert to situations in which the national margin of discretion is completely removed by transforming in fact, the ECHR in a fourth instance, contrary to the conventional model of control (op. cit. p. 42).
However, as it is said here (op. cit. p. 50) the international bodies, for their part, must also bear in mind the warning of Judge Jackson of the Supreme Court : We are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible only because we are final (Note : in English in the text).
Consequently, he concludes (op. cit. p. 50), the interjurisdictional dialogue must be undertaken by national judges with intellectual rigor, without the radicalisms proper to any methodological nationalism.
Anyhow, there are matters that are more permeable to jurisprudential reading of the ECHR, therefore, in these cases, it is more appropriate to take them as reference.
This is the case with the case-law on freedom of expression, built on the interpretation and application of the art. 10° of the European Convention on Human Rights, which offers a host of extremely useful criteria for the national courts, already integrating a European consensus, so that internal decisions can not fail to take this case-law into account.
Such a consensus reveals a doctrine of enhanced protection of freedom of expression, in the terms referred to above, which is considered as super freedom and as one of the most precious rights of man.
However our case law on freedom of expression, in its confrontation with the right to honour, tends in general to uphold the primacy of the latter over the first (cf. inter alia, the judgements of the STJ of 26/4/94, 14/2/02, 7/3/02 and 8/3/07 in www.dgsi.pt).
We acknowledge, indeed, that, while on the ECHR side the solution to the issues related to interference in freedom of expression is found by taking into account its exceptional nature and the central importance of that freedom in a democratic society, ...
… On the national instances' side there is a clear tendency to secondarily favour freedom of expression and to overestimate the right to honour.
This has caused Portugal to be condemned by the ECHR for violation of art. 10° of the European Convention on Human Rights (cf. the cases Lopes Gomes da Silva vs Portugal (2000), Urbino Rodrigues vs Portugal (2005), Roseiro Bento vs Portugal (2005). Almeida Azevedo vs Portugal (2007), Colaço Mestre vs Portugal (2007), Leonel Azevedo vs Portugal (2008), Medipress Sociedade Jornalistica. Lda. Vs Portugal (2016) and Tavares de Almeida Fernandes and Almeida Fernandes vs Portugal (2017)).
We observe, in this respect, that in the cases in which the Portuguese State would be condemned by the ECHR for violation of Convention norms, a request of review can be lodged to the Court that issued the decision to re-examine (cf. Art. 449°-1g of the CPP introduced by Law n° 48/ 2007, of 29/8, and art. 771°-f of the CPC, introduced by D.L n°303/2007 of 24/8 - art. 696°-f of the NCPC-)
Thereby followed the injunctions of the Recommendation R (2000) of January 19 2000 from the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which constitutes a soft law instrument that called on States to provide for the possibility of reopening internal proceedings when the re-examination is the necessary means to repair the entitlement affected in the cases where violation is stated by the ECHR.
This reflects the growing importance of the case-law of that Court. However, it is clear that national case-law has been operating at a turning point, having for basis and groundwork the pertinence, the dignity and the dimension of freedom of expression, as stated in the STJ's ruling of 7/3/01 (cf. also the STJ's rulings of 7/2/08, 10/7/08, 30/6/11, 28 /6/12, 8/5/13, 21/10/14 and 19/4/16, where the influence of the jurisprudential paradigm of the ECHR is evident).
The first instance judgement accounts for all this. This is why it was reproduced in part in this judgement (cf. the first 39 pages). We assume that there was a correct invocation of the legislation and of the case-law relevant for the purposes of deciding on the central question referred to above and still for reasons of procedural economy, so as not to repeat legal and jurisprudential citations, which, in this way, we consider here as reproduced.
However, that sentence ended up resolving the issue by resorting to the presumption of innocence of the claimants Kate and Gerald McCann and to the reserve duty of the defendant Gonçalo Amaral,...
... that the same was removed from the place where it was originally disposed of. This situation is likely to raise questions about the circumstances in which occurred the death of the minor.
Thus we suggest that autos be delivered to the prosecutor of Lagos aiming :
H) Evaluate the adequate measure of constraint to be applied in the case (page 2601).
10. In folio 2680 of the criminal investigation , on 10/9/2007, the prosecutor in charge of the investigation issued an order which namely says this:
During the investigation which goes on regarding the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the proceedings being therefore open either to confirm or to deny that the occurrence of the disappearance is related to the crimes of kidnapping, homicide, exposure or abandonment and concealment of corpse, and in accordance with the established plan, the need was felt to gather information on the actual time of the disappearance, verify the location of each stakeholder – from the McCann couple to the group of friends with whom they were on holiday in tourist apartments in the Praia da Luz Ocean Club, i.e Michelle Jane Tanner, Russell James O'Brien, David Matthew Oldfield, Rachael Jean Mampilly David Anthony Payne, Fiona Elaine Payne and Diana Webster – when the events occurred and in the moments that followed, and determine the movements of the assisted witnesses, Gerald McCann and Kate Healy, during their stay in Portugal, while also establishing connections between all stakeholders and third parties.
In this sense, and because the following investigation needed is essential for the discovery of truth , especially the analysis of information on telephone exchanges between the McCann couple and their friends, and other phone numbers, which have shown to be related to events of May 3rd 2007 evening, the autos are delivered to the Judge of Criminal Instruction (JCI).
11. In folio 3170 of the criminal investigation, on 3/12/2007, the JCI of Portimão issued a decree in which he stated particularly this:
Since the investigation, in these autos, concerns the practice of kidnapping, homicide, exposure or abandonment and concealment of corpse, the first three crimes being punished with a sentence of more than 3 years imprisonment, and since it seems convenient to identify the person who...
… exhibited suspicious behaviour in the vicinity of the place where the child disappeared from, as mentioned in statements of folios 3150, 3154 and sq, the data requested by the public prosecutor being thus very important to discover the truth, I order (...) the soliciting telecommunications operator Portugal Telecom.”.
12. The (then) defendant Gonçalo Amaral was, until 2/10/2007, the PJ inspector in charge of coordinating the investigation into the disappearance of the applicant Madeleine McCann.
13. The defendant Gonçalo Amaral is retired from the PJ since 1/7/2008 (n° 19).
14. On 21/7/2008, the Republic General Prosecution office informed through a "note for social communication" that the investigation mentioned in 5. would be shelved and could be reopened at the instigation of the Public prosecutor or at the request of any interested party, if new evidence arose, raising serious, relevant and consistent investigation (n° 20).
25. The book Maddie - A Verdade da Mentira was launched on 24/07/2008 in El Corte Inglês Shopping Centre in Lisbon.
40. The (then) defendant Valentim de Carvalho-Filmes e Audiovisuais SA produced the documentary Maddie , The Truth of the Lie, directed by Carlos Coelho da Silva, which is an adaptation of the book written by the (then) defendant Gonçalo Amaral. This documentary, in DVD format, is appended to the files.
42. At the end of the documentary, the defendant Gonçalo Amaral states the following :
43. The defendant Valentim de Carvalho-Filmes e Audiovisuais SA, concludes the documentary with this statement :
48. The defendant Gonçalo Amaral gave to the newspaper CdM an interview, conducted by the journalists Eduardo Dâmaso and Henrique Machado and published on the 24th July 2008. Its contents is totally reproduced and announced on the front page, having been attributed to Gonçalo Amaral in particular the following statements (...)
65. The Prosecutor Office in Portimão determined the creation of a digital copy of the investigation process, with the exception of parts subject to absolute secrecy, and its delivery, upon request, to several people, including journalists, which occurred.
68. The claimants Kate McCann and Gerald McCann gave an interview to the North-American TV program “Oprah" hosted by Oprah Winfrey, revealing the existence of new witnesses, reconstructions and e-fits.
70. This interview for the Oprah program was broadcast in Portugal by (the TV Channel) SIC, on the 9.05 and 12.05.2009.
71. The claimants Kate McCann and Gerald McCann, in collaboration with the British television station Channel 4, made ​​a documentary about the disappearance of their daughter, entitled Still missing Madeleine, lasting 60 '.
74. The documentary Still missing Madeleine, translated Maddie, Two Years of Anguish, was broadcast by SIC on 12.05.2009.
75. On 17.10.2007, Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for Kate McCann and Gerald McCann said they were realistic enough to admit that their daughter would probably be dead.
78. The so-called Maddie case has been deeply treated in the Portuguese society and in foreign countries, either by media organs or in books, like the works of Paulo Pereira Cristovão, Manuel Catarino and Hernani Carvalho.
79. The so-called Maddie case was commented by Dr. Francisco Moita Flores, former Inspector, writer, and criminologist, as a columnist in various media.
80. The facts related to the criminal investigation of Madeleine McCann's disappearance that the defendant Gonçalo Amaral refers to in the book, in an interview with the newspaper Correio da Manhã and in the documentary are mostly facts that occurred and are documented in this investigation.
Next, let us recall the essential nucleus of the "European consensus" reached by the case-law of the ECHR on freedom of expression, built on interpretation and application of art. 10° of the European Convention of Human Rights :
(I) Freedom of expression, a postulate of democratic society and right. Being the basis of pluralism, of tolerance and of the spirit-opening necessary to the progress of this group of societies and to the individual development of its members ;
(II) the limitations on freedom of expression must be provided for by law, pursue a legitimate aim and be necessary in a democratic society ;
(III) when, in debates of issues of public interest, the possibility of restrictions on freedom of expression is particularly limited ;
(IV) the politicians, the public figures and senior officials of public administration, when in the exercise of their charge are subject to limits of criticism wider than private persons.
(V) In the examination of the limits of freedom of expression, de facto assertions have to be distinguished from statements of value, assertions addressed to the opponent's opinions from appraisals on the opponent's person, and what is criticism from what constitutes an insult and
(VI) the press has the duty to transmit information's and ideas on matters of public interest and in doing so it is allowed to resort to a certain amount of exaggeration, even of provocation (Cf. among many others, Smolor vs Poland, Thoma vs Luxembourg and Palomo Sanchez et al vs Spain). Cf. also about (I) Dalban vs Romania and Sabanovic vs Serbia and Montenegro (5955/06). As regards point (II), Azevedo vs Portugal (20620104) and Roseiro Bento vs Portugal (29288/02). Concerning point (III)., Lopes Gomes da Silva vs Portugal (37698/97) and Heinisch vs Germany (28274108). As to the point (IV), Sabanovic vs Serbia and Montenegro (5995/06) and Vellutini and Michel vs France (32280/09). On the topic of (V), Petrina vs Romania (78060/01) and Petrenco vs Moldavia (20928/05)...
… As for point (VI), Renaud c. France (13290/07) and UJ vs Hungary (23954/10)).
In view of the above legal and case law framework, it is necessary to examine the specific situation set out in the minutes of this case, taking into account the facts (materia de facto) given as proven, already reproduced.
What results from this, as well referred in the sentence of the first instance, is that the book in question is the expression of an opinion, including the account of the conclusions that the author draws from the means of obtaining evidence produced in the investigation in order to formulate a thesis, an hypothesis of verification of the facts.
It appears that both the interview as well as the documentary at stake are nothing more than ways of publicising the book and the thesis defended there, although the documentary develops it in a way, perhaps, more appealing.
That same thesis is synthetically, as well referred in the sentence of the first instance, that there was no kidnapping of the minor, contrary to the initial premise of the criminal investigation which is what the child's parents maintain up to now. What happened was the accidental death of the child in the flat of the tourist resort, then the cover up of this event through the concealment of her corpse and the simulation of the referred crime, carried out by the claimants Gerald and Kate McCann.
However, as stated by the justice instances, the put forward thesis is no novelty, since it is also contained in the report referred to in n° 9 of the proven facts, elaborated in the framework of the criminal investigation with the date of 10/9/07.
This was then a line of inquiry pursued in the investigation which, incidentally, established the constitution of the presently appellants as arguidos (formal suspects) (cf. n°s 10 and 11 of the proven facts).
In addition, since the office of the Portimão Public Prosecutor provided a copy of the aforementioned investigation, namely to journalists, its content was publicly and universally divulged and discussed (cf. n°s 65 and 66 of the proven facts).
Consequently, what is discussed in the present case is the exercise of the right to opinion of the respondent on matters of public interest concerning the appellants who, in this case, have to be considered public figures.
In fact, the 'public figure' concept arises in opposition to the 'private figure' one, being this one the anonymous citizens, living in the simpleness of their existence.
Concerning the minutes of this case, it can be said, taking into account the typology in which is analysed the concept of public figure referred to by Iolanda A.S. Rodrigues de Brito, in Freedom of Expression and Honour of Public Figures, pp. 46-7, that we are dealing with relative public figures, in so far as the appellants intervene publicly in order to influence a debate of public interest. This way, the perspective of their public life, connected with that debate, subjects them to a public interest for information, which guarantees them the possibility of accessing the social media.
And also, they are voluntary public figures, because they accepted to be thrown into the vulnerability of the public sphere, as a consequence of the role that they tried to assume in the public debate in which they decided to intervene.
Actually, as stated in the judgement under appeal and as it results from the proven facts, it was the appellants themselves who, by virtue of having easy access to the public debate, multiplied in interviews and interventions in the national and international media. Thus they opened the way for any person wishing equally to express an opinion on the case, contradicting their thesis.
Now, as Francisco Teixeira da Mota points out, op. cit. p. 21, The ECHR, in assessing the cases that are submitted to them, grants' the maximum degree of protection to the public debate and to freedom of expression, when public or political issues are at stake, including the public figures themselves and their actions.
This Court in fact considers that freedom of expression, as provided for in article 10°-1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society, one of the basic conditions for its progress and for the development of every man.
As already mentioned, the ECHR has developed a doctrine of enhanced protection of the freedom of expression, when the person targeted by the imputations of facts and by the formulation of dishonourable value judgements is a public figure and when a matter of public interest is at stake.
Actually, being a public figure and not a mere private person, the targeted person is more exposed, unavoidably and consciously, to a tight control of his behaviour and opinions by journalists as well as by the general public. This is why the public figure should demonstrate a much greater tolerance in regard of such control.
And this is all the more so when it happens that the targeted persons themselves are the ones who utter public statements susceptible of criticism.
Of course the public figure is entitled to protection of his reputation, even outside the scope of their private life.
What is meant is that the imperatives of such protection must be weighed against the interests of free discussion of public issues.
This way, in the name of robust controversy, should not be protected unjustified personal attacks addressed to dignity, integrity and moral and professional probity, considered obviously unnecessary and disproportionate.
However, here too, the intense confrontation of ideas can easily lead to determined exaggerations, which must, to a reasonable extent, be protected, particularly in cases where it occurs in a public forum endowed with reasonable conditions of equality and reciprocity.
We observe, on the other side, that freedom of opinion, in the wording of the art. 10° of the European Convention on Human Rights, is the first of the constitutive elements of freedom of expression.
The distinction between facts and opinions is one of the aspects that the ECHR refers to as of particular importance.
Thus, while the existence of facts is possible to demonstrate, the truth of opinions is not susceptible of being proved. Requiring the proof of the truth of an opinion is impossible to fulfil and infringes the own freedom of expression, which is a fundamental part of the right guaranteed by the art. 10° of the "European Convention on Human Rights". However, even when an assertion corresponds to a value judgement, the proportionality of the interference may depend on the existence of a sufficient basis for the contested statement, since an opinion without factual basis to support it might be excessive (cf. Oberschlick vs Austria (1991)).
Freedom of opinion enjoys an almost complete protection in the sense that the possible restrictions allowed by article 10°-1 are inapplicable because they reveal an incompatibility with democratic society, such protection preventing the States from discriminating between citizens according to their opinions. Citizens indeed can not suffer negative consequences because of their opinions (cf. in this sense, Iolanda Brito, op. cit. p. 65).
According to Manuel da Costa Andrade, in "Freedom of the Press and Personal Inviolability", Coimbra, p. 274, the tolerance given to value judgement is ostensibly more generous than that granted to de facto imputations (...).
As Anabela Gradim points out in "Handbook of Journalism - Urbi et Orbi Style Book", p. 74, Who writes opinion is aware of the partiality of their positions, but simultaneously admits and wishes that these be shared and adopted by a large number of recipients of this opinion - that is the meaning of the argumentation : convert, convince, regiment (Cf. Also Jónatas Machado, "Freedom of Expression–Constitutional Dimensions of the Public Sphere in the Social System", BFDUC, Coimbra, pp.425-6 and 768).
There is no remaining doubt that the respondent having been up to 2/10/07, the Judicial Police Inspector responsible for coordinating the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann (n°12 of the proven facts), he could not fail to know, in detail, ...
animus injuriandi (intention to offend) vs animus informandi (intention to inform) and animus defendendi (intention to defend).
But is, in this case, the protection of the appellants' rights to their good name and reputation closely related to the presumption of innocence, as said in the first instance's sentence?
And this because, as the appellants claim in the conclusions of their appeal allegations, beyond their being absolutely innocent and cleared by virtue of the filing order to close the proceedings, are they also entitled to benefit from the principle of presumption of innocence?
First of all it has to be said that the principle of the presumption of innocence (art. 32°-2 of the CRP, 11°-1 of the UDHR and 6°-2 of the European Convention on Human Rights) is a rule of treatment to be given to the arguido (formal suspect) throughout the judicial criminal process.
Accordingly, this principle can not be construed as a restriction on public discussion of potentially criminal facts, despite that public bodies should, in their communications, resort to the necessary reserve to avoid creating the conviction that the arguido is in fact guilty (Cf. Konstas vs Greece of 28/11/ 11 (n° 053466/071).
That referred principle may even impose, on the threshold of criminal proceedings, respect for an absolutory penal decision or even for a decision of archiving by the judicial authorities involved in subsequent proceedings (Allen vs United-Kingdom, Of 12/7/2013, n° 1025424/0991).
Nevertheless, the Court of Justice of the European Union has decided that the principle of presumption of innocence does not apply to subsequent civil proceedings (mainly compensatory) to criminal proceedings, at risk of depriving the victim of her own right to accede to the courts and to be compensated (Cf. the judgements in Y vs Norvvay (56568/00) of 11/ 5/2003 and Diacendo vs Italy (124/04) of 05/07/2012).
As Jónatas Machado points out, in "Freedom of Expression, Public Interest and Public Figures and Equalities", BFDUC, vol.LXXXV, 2009, p. 91, The presumption of innocence, because it's only a presumption, cannot overcome the search for the truth and the right of citizens to the truth. It cannot as well prevent public criticism and public scrutiny of the functioning of justice. The same happens, furthermore, with the attempt to demonstrate the innocence of a condemned person and thereby to move aside the mark of the conviction. The search for truth, including the truth about justice, has always been one of the main justifications of freedom of expression.
It must be reminded that, in the present case, the issue isn't the appellants' penal liability, in other words their innocence or their guilt concerning the facts leading to the disappearance of her daughter doesn't have to be appreciated here.
What is in discussion here is merely the civil liability of the respondents, on the grounds that they have expressed and disclosed the above-mentioned thesis/opinion on the disappearance in question.
It follows that the outcome of the present case is not such as to call into question the extra-procedural dimension of the presumption of innocence.
This means that, even if the action does not proceed, it will not imply, even in the eyes of the community. any consideration of the appellants' liability, because such outcome will never will be able to be equated to an observation of respective culpability (cf. on this topic the judgements Del Latte vs Holland (n°44760/98) of 9/11/2004 and Cheena vs Belgium of 9/5/2016).
In addition, we are faced with a decision of filing by the Public Ministry which is subject to modification through various ways.
Thus, in addition to the recourse to the jurisdictional way, by opening the inquiry (see note p.21) (art. 287° of the CPP) and the complaint to the hierarchical superior (art. 278° of the CPP), the investigation can be reopened if new elements of evidence arise invalidating the grounds called upon by the Public Ministry in the filing dispatch (art. 279° of the CPP).
This is indeed even mentioned in the Note to the Social Communication released by the Attorney General's office on 21/7/2008 and announcing that the filing of the investigation had been decided. It was reported that it could be reopened on the initiative of the Public Ministry or at the request of any interested party if new elements of evidence arise triggering serious, pertinent and consequential proceedings (n°14 of the proven facts).
In this way, as the aforementioned filing order is not a judicial decision stricto senso, nor does it assume a definitive form, less would it be justified invoking the principle of the presumption of innocence to restrain freedom of expression.
And the safeguarding of the authority of the judicial power (cf. article 10°-2 of the European Convention on Human Rights) is not alluded to, since is definitely outdated the traditional idea that criticism against the judicial power must be proscribed as it contributes to the undermining of its dignity, authority and credibility in the long term. The best guarantee of dignity of all State institutions in the long run consists in its permanent opening to public criticism.
But was the freedom of expression of the respondent conditioned by the functions he performed and did those, even when he was retired, impose on him the reserve duty, as was upheld in the first instance sentence and is reaffirmed by the appellants ?
It is certain that the respondent, in the capacity of retired Judicial Police agent, continues to be linked to the public service, keeping furthermore the rights and duties that do not depend on the activity situation (cf. art 74°-1 of the Retirement Statute, approved by DL n°498/72 of 9/12).
As referred to in the Attorney General Consultative Council opinion of 16.12.06, quoted in the first instance sentence, by Esteves Remédio, the doctrine considers as duties of the retired that do not depend on the activity situation the duty of loyalty, the duty of nondisclosure and the duty of appropriate conduct, this being insistently reported to the abstention from committing crimes.
Moreover that recommendation mentions that the duty of nondisclosure is to maintain professional secrecy as for the facts of which (the retired agent) is aware by virtue of the exercise...
… of his charge, and that are not aimed at the public sphere. (quoting art. 3° of the disciplinary statute).
And, furthermore, the nondisclosure duty extends beyond the exercise of one's functions, remaining in the course of retirement, but, as in the activity situation, it is required that the conduct affects in a pertinent way the functioning of the service or the dignity and the prestige of the function or of the Administration.
It should be noted that nowhere in the legislation quoted regarding this in the first instance sentence, it is alluded to the reserve duty.
In this way the art. 5°-2e of the DL 196/94 of 21/7, which approved the Disciplinary Regulation of the Judiciary Police, expressly refers to 'the nondisclosure duty'.
For its part, the art.12° of the DL n°275-A/2000 of the 9/1, which approved the new Organic Law of the Judicial Police, is subject to the epigraph "Secret of justice and professional" (cf. article 149° regarding retired agents).
Now, as Cunha Rodrigues wrote in Justice and Communication, BFD 68 (1992), p.124, 'nondisclosure' should not be confused with 'reserve'.
In the present case and on the topic of the nondisclosure duty or of the secrecy of justice, which remains in the course of retirement, it must be understood that we are faced with a functional obligation which essentially protects the interests of the service to which the respondent belonged, namely the effectiveness of the criminal investigation.
Still, the facts at stake had already been made public by the judicial authority and widely debated, both nationally and internationally. Moreover the investigation was already closed.
On the other hand, the eventual breach of the nondisclosure duty on the part of the respondent
would not thrust out, in the sphere of private individuals, any subjective rights or legally protected interests, and would not therefore be considered as a source of illicitness.
In addition, the ECHR, in similar situations, takes mainly into account the importance of the cooperation of an enlightened and well-informed public to the proper functioning of justice (cf. Saygili and Others vs Turkey of 8 /1/08 and July and Sarl Liberation vs France of 14/2/08).
We therefore consider that freedom of expression does not either have to yield to the invoked functional duty borne by the respondent, reason why his conduct was not illicit in the terms taken into account in the first instance sentence.
In our view, the judgment under appeal is correct by understanding that the argumentation of the First Instance may be upheld and by stating that it would be hardly understandable that a civil servant, even more a retired one, should carry on his silence and reserve duties, thus limiting the exercise of his right to opinion as to the interpretation of facts already made public by the judicial authority and widely discussed (actually largely at the instigation of the protagonists themselves) in national and international media.
Contrary to what the applicants claim, in order to subsume the legal provision for unlawfulness considered by article 484° of the CC, it is not enough that the fact stated or disclosed is susceptible, given the circumstances of the case, to undermine the prestige enjoyed by a person or the good image of that person in the social environment.
In fact, according to the Latin juridical axiom, qui jure suo utitur nemini facit injuriam (note : he who draws upon his legal rights harms no one).
This means that who acts in the exercise of a right is acting in accordance with the legal system and cannot therefore be held responsible in a civil point of view (see Antunes Varela, General Obligations, p.36).
Thus, when facts are imputed or expressed value judgements offensive to the honour of a public figure, it is possible that freedom of expression is being legitimately exercised.
That being, in the matter of expressing value judgements, the right to freedom of expression has a broader supporting appetence, given even the exceptional nature of the obligation to compensate for value judgements.
This does not preclude the maintenance of a concern for a balanced legal and concrete solution to the conflict between freedom of expression and the honour of public figures.
What these notions cannot be submitted to is to any anticipated judgement of abstract preference for any of them, since they meet two fundamental rights, constitutionally consecrated, and that hierarchically occupy the same place.
But since it is impossible for the conflict between two equal rights or of the same species to be resolved by the principle of equal treatment (cf. art. 335° of the CC), the right that, in its exercise, is considered superior will be bound to prevail (cf. n° 2 of the same article), ...
… taking into account the necessary balancing criteria evinced by this specific case.
These criteria have already been set out in the present judgement, as are in particular the achievement of a public interest, the public status of the alluded individuals, the sufficient factual basis of the ventured value judgements and the nature thereof, as well as the respective context (having a background of heated controversy on a matter of relevant public interest).
We consider that, in this case, in view of the verified matter of facts, the exercise of freedom of expression was contained within limits which must be considered admissible in a (post-) modern democratic society, open and plural, in view of the aforementioned criteria of equilibrium and the alluded principle of proportionality, which excludes the unlawfulness of the honour injury of the appellants.
Such a conclusion results from the interpretation of the internal norms in conformity with the Constitution, but also with the European Convention on Human Rights, read by the lawcase compendium of the ECHR.
According to Jónatas Machado, in "Freedom of Expression - Constitutional Dimensions", p. 750, the measure of civil and penal protection of personality rights is determined on the basis of the constitutional parameters of the freedoms of communication, refusing any systematic-immanent enhancing autonomy of those branches of law and emphasising particularly the constitutional purpose of creating a public sphere of open and uninhibited discussion of matters of general interest, this objective having always to be present in the analysis of the results of the application of the law.
Adding, this revere professor, in "Freedom of Expression, Public Interest", op. cit. p.74, that The preferential position of freedom of expression, in its quality of precondition for the democratic functioning of the political system, is an indisputable constitutional truth.
And alluding, more ahead, last op. cit. p. 77, to the duty to interpret the legal norms on the protection of honour, good name and reputation in harmony with the Constitution, in order to serve the promotion of constitutional purposes substantiating the protection of a free and democratic society where questions of public interest seal the subject of information and free and open discussion.
The case-law of the ECHR, as it has been already abundantly exposed above, is obviously inclined towards a restrictive interpretation of personality rights...
… in confrontation with freedom of expression, so as not to compromise its central role in a democratic society.
On the other hand, as stated in the summary of the aforementioned STJ Ruling of 7/2/08 - From the case-law which has been ratified by the ECHR, it results an imposition on the mode of thinking : it is not justified wondering straightaway whether a particular piece of journalism offends someone. The starting point should rather be the freedom enjoyed by the respective author(s). Only after it should be questioned whether is justified – in view of the referential criteria of the same court, including a proper margin of appreciation on the part of the internal organs of each of the States signatory of the Convention – the restrictive interference in the field of that same freedom and the consequent passage to legal sanctions.
For that matter, the Constitutional Court has affirmed a clear historic will of the constituent legislator to follow the step of the European jurisprudence in the development of the fundamental rights likewise provided for in The Convention and the Constitution (cf. the Ruling of the Constitutional Court 157/2001, in D.R. Serie I de 10/5/01).
Faced with a settled case-law by the ECHR, as it happens in cases such as the present one, the Portuguese courts cannot but be influenced by the European paradigm of human rights.
This, however, does not mean resolving the conflict in question with an abstract preference for freedom of expression, but rather linking to the assumptions, i.e. to the European criteria for conflict resolution.
What is at stake, fundamentally, is to identify the legal good that will be, concretely, prevailing, taking into account that, in each conflict resolution, the balance pans, to begin with, are in a position of equilibrium, since freedom of expression and honour must start from a position of equality.
For this purpose, it is necessary to introduce the respective evaluation criteria in the pan of freedom of expression or in the pan of honour.
And it is playing with weights and counterweights that, in the end, it will appear which of the pans weighs more.
Well, in the present case, as it results from the foregoing, the pan that weighs more and is the freedom of expression one.
Which amounts to saying that this is the legal good that, in this case, prevails.
Thus we shall have to conclude that, in the present case, prevail the rights of the respondents to freedom of expression and information and to freedom of the press and of the media.
Therefore the sentence under appeal does not deserve censure while excluding the unlawfulness of the respondents' conduct and, consequently, absolving them of all requests.
Dismissed, accordingly, are the conclusions of the appellants' allegations. We do not reckon that this judgement has violated any legal rule turned into the CRP , but rather we understood, as it results from what has already been discussed, that the interpretation of the norms applicable to this case was made in accordance with the Constitution.
3 - Decision.
Given what has been said, the request of review is denied and the appealed judgement confirmed.
Costs for the appellants.
CC : :
http://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=775&tabela=leis
UDHR :
http://www.humanrights.com/what-are-human-rights/universal-declaration-of-human-rights/articles-01-10.html
http://www.legislationline.org/download/action/download/id/1696/file/
5b9c1103a855967f0d5979c86a02.htm/preview
CPP : http://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=199&tabela=leis
http://www.stj.pt/
CPC : http://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=1959&tabela=leis