Overview of priorities by Minister of Justice Francisca van Dunem
In the first half of 2021, Portugal holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In this video, Minister of Justice Francisca van Dunem explains the main objectives and priorities in the field of justice and judicial cooperation, such as access to justice, victim rights, the digital transformation of justice and the fight against cross-border crime and terrorism, and how Eurojust plays a decisive role in implementing these goals.
António Francisco de Araújo Lima Cluny was appointed National Member for Portugal in October 2014. Following graduation, Mr Cluny served as a prosecutor in the Judicial Court of Cascais, and, for a short time until 1990, in the Criminal Court of Lisbon. He served as Chief Prosecutor in the Judicial Court of Sintra until 1992, and held the same role in the Judicial Court of Cascais until 1998. In 1998, he was appointed Deputy Prosecutor General on behalf of the Prosecutor General at the Supreme Courts: Court of Auditors.
Deputy National Member
José Luis Ferreira Trindade has been Deputy National Member for Portugal since September 2020. Before, he served as Assistant to the National Member for Portugal since July 2016. Mr Trindade has been in duty as Public Prosecutor since 1990 at different level of Public Prosecution Service. From 2005, he worked as Chief Prosecutor of a special unit in Coimbra devoted to investigations of organised economic and financial crime. He has also been involved in matters of international cooperation as a Contact Point of the European Judicial Network. Mr Trindade is member of the informal EU Asset Recovery Offices’ Platform.
Assistant to the National Member
Rita Cláudia Simões has been Assistant to the National Member for Portugal since September 2020.
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Interview with National Member António Francisco de Araújo Lima Cluny
What strikes you most about working at Eurojust?
I believe that the possibilities of the National Members to understand the different legal traditions and judiciary practices of European countries on a daily basis are the best contribution that Eurojust could provide to increase the necessary mutual trust between different countries’ judicial authorities.
Could you describe a case that you have supported and which had a particularly successful outcome?
I do not want to highlight any specific case. All the cases have allowed us to learn various aspects about each other’s legal systems. That is the most successful outcome of Eurojust’s working process: it facilitates judicial cooperation and criminal investigative coordination.
Which of the services and tools available through Eurojust do you consider most important for national judicial authorities – and why?
The coordination meetings are without a doubt the best and most innovative cooperation and coordination tool conceived by Eurojust. No other aspect of Eurojust’s work, tools or products is as useful or remarkable. That is not a personal opinion: this is what most practitioners who have participated in coordination meetings believe.