The Supreme Court of Justice ( pt, Supremo Tribunal de Justiça, , STJ) is the highest
court of law
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordan ...
in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
without prejudice to the jurisdiction of the
Constitutional Court
A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...
.
The judges of the STJ are referred to as "counselors" (''conselheiros''). Its president is elected by and from among the judges of the court.
The STJ is installed in the buildings of the northern wing of the ''
Terreiro do Paço
Terreiro is a town and commune of Angola, located in the province of Cuanza Norte.
See also
* Communes of Angola
The Communes of Angola ( pt, comunas) are administrative units in Angola after municipalities. The 163 municipalities of Ango ...
'' square in
Lisbon.
Competences
The competences of the Supreme Court of Justice are the following:
*To try the
President of Portugal
The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic ( pt, Presidente da República Portuguesa, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal.
The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, an ...
, the President of the
Assembly of the Republic and the
Prime Minister of Portugal for crimes committed during the exercise of their office;
*To harmonize rulings by setting uniform
jurisprudence
Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...
;
*To hear appeals in matters of law;
*To try crimes committed by the members of the Supreme Court, of the Courts of Appeal or Public Prosecutors.
History
The Supreme Court of Justice was created in 1833, in the scope of the separation of the
judicial power
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
from the others, dictated by the establishment of the Portuguese Constitutional Monarchy.
The STJ replaced the ancient higher courts of the kingdom, namely the Board of Conscience and Orders (''Mesa da Consciência e Ordens'') created in 1532, the ''Desembargo'' of the Palace (''Desembargo do Paço'') regulated in 1533 and the
Council of State
A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
(''Conselho de Estado'') regulated in 1562. The judges of the STJ inherited the title of "counselors" until then worn by the members of the Board of Conscience and Orders and of the Council of State.
See also
*
Judiciary of Portugal
The judiciary of Portugal is a system of courts that together constitute one of the four organs of Sovereignty as defined by the Portuguese Constitution. The courts are independent from the other three Portuguese organs of Sovereignty ( Presid ...
**
Constitutional Court of Portugal
The Constitutional Court ( pt, Tribunal Constitucional, ) is a special court, defined by the Portuguese Constitution as part of the judicial branch of the Portuguese political organization. Unlike the rest of the country's courts, the Constitut ...
**
Portuguese Court of Audits The Portuguese Court of Audits ( pt, Tribunal de Contas) is the high-court in Portugal responsible for reviewing the legal issues on public expenditure and delivering judgement on those accounts relating to:
* General Accounts of the State
* account ...
**
Portuguese Supreme Administrative Court The Supreme Administrative Court ( pt, Supremo Tribunal Administrativo) is a court in Portugal that deals with matters pertaining to administrative and fiscal legal relations. This court functions without prejudice to the jurisdiction of the Constit ...
*
Politics of Portugal
Politics in Portugal operates as a unitary multi-party semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Portugal is the head of government, and the President of Portugal is the non-executive head of state wit ...
*
Constitution of Portugal
The present Constitution of Portugal was adopted in 1976 after the Carnation Revolution. It was preceded by a number of constitutions including the first one created in 1822 (following the Liberal Revolution of 1820), 1826 (drawn up by King ...
References
External links
*
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
Politics of Portugal
Law of Portugal
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
Courts and tribunals with year of establishment missing
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