File

The Instituto Jurídico Portucalense (IJP) took part in the XXVIII Congreso Internacional y Semipresencial de Historia de los Derechos Humanos, held at the University of Salamanca from 24 to 26 September 2025 Since 1997, this congress — led by María Esther Martínez Quinteiro (Professor at the University of Salamanca and integrated researcher at the IJP) — has been a key forum for discussion in the field of human rights. The IJP’s participation reinforces its commitment to the international debate on human rights from multidisciplinary and intersectional perspectives. The Research Unit was represented by its Director, Maria Manuela Magalhães Silva, guest speaker with the lecture ‘Human rights and new challenges from a constitutional perspective’, and by Olívia de Carvalho, integrated researcher, who presented the paper ‘The protection of children in the legal system: From law to practice’. During the Congress, the e-book Women, Gender and Intersectionality in Perspective was also presented, a publication resulting from a selection of papers from the Working Group ‘Studies on Women, Gender and Intersectionality’, developed in the 2024 edition of the event. The group was coordinated by Zamira de Assis, who shares the coordination of the e-book with Maria Manuela Magalhães Silva and Maria Esther Martínez Quinteiro.

VII International Congress on Public Policies and Social Development The Portucalense Legal Institute will join as a partner in the VII International Congress on Public Policies and Social Development, organized by the UniProcessus University Center (Brasília, Brazil). The initiative aims to discuss how Procedural Law and Public Policies can serve as pillars for truly sustainable social development, with a particular focus on the challenges of ensuring justice for vulnerable groups. As part of the Congress, the seminar series “Vulnerable Groups and Justice: Procedural and Civil Challenges on the Path to Sustainable Social Development” will take place between October 3 and 24, featuring the participation of several IJP researchers and its research hubs. The opening webinar, titled “New Vulnerabilities in the Digital Age”, will be held on October 3 at 6:00 p.m. (Lisbon) / 2:00 p.m. (Brasília), with contributions from Lurdes Varregoso Mesquita (Coordinator of the IJP Research Group on Procedural Law), Susana Almeida (Coordinator of the IJP Leiria Hub), and Fernanda da Rocha Teixeira (Professor at UniProcessus). Registration is available via Sympla, and the session will be streamed live on the UniProcessus YouTube channel.

2nd International Symposium on Human Rights and Citizenship The 2nd International Symposium on Human Rights and Citizenship, held on 1 and 2 July 2025, successfully fulfilled its main objective: to promote and disseminate knowledge in the area of human rights, with a critical and interdisciplinary approach. The event, held in a hybrid modality, had a significant number of national and international participants, bringing together researchers, teachers, students and professionals from various fields of knowledge, both as speakers and listeners. It also stood out as a privileged space for strengthening scientific collaboration networks, promoting intercultural dialogue and academic cooperation. During the Symposium, the cooperation protocol between Universidade Portucalense and Universidad de Ixtlahuaca CUI (Mexico) was signed on 1 July. On the 2nd, there was a special session dedicated to the launch of publications by participating researchers.

Public Presentation of the Book “Citizen Initiatives as Instruments of Democracy” On the afternoon of May 14, the public presentation of the book “Citizen Initiatives as Instruments of Democracy” was held at the José Saramago Library, Polytechnic of Leiria. The book is coordinated by Mário Simões Barata, Ângelo Abrunhosa (both from the Polytechnic of Leiria), and Dora Resende Alves (Universidade Portucalense). The session featured a presentation by Professor Maria Manuela Magalhães Silva, Director of the IJP and author of the book’s preface.

The 3rd edition of the Young Scholars International Conference on Enterprise Law (YSICEL) took place on the morning of May 14, featuring early-career researchers presenting their work across various fields of business law. The event was organized by the Leiria Branch of the IJP.

On May 14, the IJP joined other UPT departments and units for the roundtable “Raising Awareness for Ocean and Marine Heritage”, an initiative linked to the European Maritime Day (May 25). The event promoted reflection on key themes such as marine governance, environmental education, international cooperation for sustainable development, marine biodiversity protection, the blue economy, and the preservation of natural and cultural maritime heritage. Image Accordion #1 Image Accordion #2 Image Accordion Content Goes Here! Click edit button to change this text.

As part of the Europe Day celebrations, the conference The Role of Regions in European Integration took place on May 9, hosted by Universidade Portucalense, the Law Department, and the IJP, in partnership with the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia in Portugal. Guest speakers included: Agustí Fernández de Losada Passols (Secretary for European Affairs, Multilateral Relations and Development Cooperation – Government of Catalonia), António M. Cunha (President of the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission), Luís Nobre (President of the Euroregion Eixo Atlântico and Mayor of Viana do Castelo), Rafael Barbosa (Deputy Director of Jornal de Notícias), Paulo Silva (President of the Association of Paredes for Social Inclusion), Pedro Ponte e Sousa, Pascoal Pereira (faculty members at Universidade Portucalense), and Giuliano G. Braga Braga (faculty member at the University of Minho).

Conference – “Human Rights and Reproductive Health: Current Ethical and Legal Dilemmas” On May 20, the Leiria Branch of the Instituto Jurídico Portucalense (IJP) will host the conference “Human Rights and Reproductive Health: Current Ethical and Legal Dilemmas”. The event, held in hybrid format, is co-organized with the Department of Legal Sciences and the Nursing undergraduate program of the School of Health, Polytechnic of Leiria. This initiative aims to foster critical reflection on the ethical and legal challenges currently shaping reproductive rights, while highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary dialogue between Law and Health in defending fundamental rights. Registration is free and available at the following link.

Revista Jurídica Portuguesa is now in the Ibero-American top 10. It has joined Scopus Q1 The Revista Jurídica Portucalense (RJP) was recently ranked in the 1st quartile (Q1) in the field of Law by Scopus, according to the SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) indicator. This classification places RJP among the top-performing legal journals internationally (above at least 75% of others in its category), now ranking in the top 10 Ibero-American law journals with the highest impact factor. The rise from Q3 in 2023 to Q1 in 2024 reflects the consistent and rigorous work of its editorial team, authors, and reviewers. As a fully open-access journal with no publication fees, RJP is consolidating its role as a platform of excellence for legal research and strengthening the international visibility of both the IJP and UPT.

The 2nd International Symposium on Human Rights and Citizenship is a joint initiative between Universidade Portucalense Infante D. Henrique (UPT – Portugal) and Universidade Salvador (UNIFACS – Brazil), consolidating an academic partnership that has lasted for over a decade. For this second edition, which will take place on 1st and 2nd July 2025, the chosen theme is “Human Rights in Crisis? Tensions between Global Challenges and Local Contexts”, reflecting contemporary issues that challenge the guarantee of Human Rights in a scenario marked by rising inequalities, political crises, climate emergencies, and democratic setbacks in various parts of the world. Abstract submissions will be accepted until 30th May 2025. For further information and guidance on submitting proposals, please visit the Symposium website: