Colloquium – Proceedings within the Competence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and Civil Registry Offices

On 13 January 2026, at 5:30 p.m., the Colloquium “Proceedings under the Jurisdiction of the Public Prosecution Service and Civil Registry Offices” will take place at Auditorium 201 of the Universidade Portucalense. This event marks the first scientific dissemination initiative of the Portucalense Legal Institute (IJP) in 2026, and is integrated into the activities of the Research Group on Procedural Law and the thematic line “Justice, Procedure and Development.”

The initiative is grounded in the book Proceedings under the Jurisdiction of the Public Prosecution Service and Civil Registry Offices, coordinated by Lurdes Varregoso Mesquita (Coordinator of the IJP Research Group on Procedural Law) and Rossana Martingo Cruz (researcher at JusGov).

The colloquium aims to provide a critical analysis of the process of dejudicialisation introduced by Decree-Law No. 272/2001 of 13 October, which assigned new competences to the Public Prosecution Service and Civil Registry Offices, reflecting on the main challenges and difficulties arising from its practical application.

As a forum for dialogue between academic research and professional practice, the event seeks to contribute to strengthening access to justice, improving procedural efficiency, and advancing institutional responses, highlighting the importance of cooperation between theory and practice in the development of more effective legal solutions.

Programme

5:30 p.m.

Opening Session

Maria Manuela Magalhães Silva, Director of the Portucalense Legal Institute

5:45 p.m.

Opening Lecture

Proceedings within the Competence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and Civil Registry Offices – From the Perspective of the Public Prosecutor

Nuno Farias, Public Prosecutor

6:15 p.m.

Panel

Moderation: Lurdes Varregoso Mesquita, Adjunct Professor at P.PORTO and Professor at UPT; Researcher at IJP/UPT

Procedural acts and the powers of the Civil Registry Officer under Article 5 of Decree-Law 272/2001
J. P. Remédio Marques, Full Professor at FDUC and Professor at UPT

Lack of opposition and the limits of confession: not all silence is golden
Vitória Andrade e Silva, Civil Registry Officer

Article 8 of Decree-Law 272/2001, of 23 October, in perspective: when the process still travels on paper
Benedita Loureiro, Civil Registry Officer

7:00 p.m.

Closing Session

Rossana Martingo Cruz, Assistant Professor at EDUM, Researcher at JusGov

7:15p.m.

Closure Coffee

Colloquium – Proceedings within the Competence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and Civil Registry Offices