EUROVISION 2010: INTERVIEW WITH HAREL SKAAT (ISRAEL)

Advogados dos pobres chamados a devolver pagamentos de despesas

Instituto da Justiça exige despacho judicial a autorizar despesas, porque detectou irregularidades

São apenas 17 euros, mas por trás do valor está um princípio. Para Laura Coelho a resposta é imediata: não está disponível para devolver um cêntimo. A indignação é partilhada por centenas de colegas advogados. Na semana passada, os profissionais que fazem defesas oficiosas - ou seja, de cidadãos sem rendimentos para contratar advogado e apoiados pelo Estado - receberam uma carta em que lhes é exigido um despacho judicial justificativo das despesas apresentadas ou, em alternativa, que devolvam os valores pagos nos primeiros meses do ano.

A carta enviada pelo Instituto de Gestão Financeira e de Infra-estruturas da Justiça (IGFIJ) está a causar confusão entre os advogados e a clarificação só deverá ser feita, explica o bastonário Marinho e Pinto, numa reunião com o ministro da Justiça, agendada para o próximo dia 1. É que em 2008 entrou em vigor um novo regime do patrocínio oficioso e a gestão de processos e pagamentos passou a ser feita por sistema informático, razão pela qual ninguém consegue responder claramente se se mantém em vigor a exigência de que a autorização de despesas seja feita por despacho de um juiz.

No caso de Laura Coelho, os 17 euros são relativos a dez processos. Feitas as contas, em média são 1,7 euros por processo, relativos a despesas com correio ou transportes. Será necessário que um juiz autorize verbas deste montante? "Se assim for, temos um sistema informático destinado a agilizar que é, afinal, complicado", comenta a advogada Teresa Frias, a quem foi pedida a devolução de 19,60 euros.

Irregularidades. Na carta do IGFIJ, a que o i teve acesso, é explicada a razão desta verificação de contas. "Este instituto tem vindo a constatar a existência de algumas irregularidades no pedido de despesas relacionadas com processos no âmbito do acesso ao direito." O Ministério da Justiça, que tutela o instituto, não esclareceu em tempo útil que irregularidades estão em causa e qual o montante global de despesas.

Marinho e Pinto admite que existam "eventuais" abusos e assegura que a Ordem dos Advogados quer resolver a situação, mas "não é de supetão". O instituto dá aos defensores oficiosos 15 dias para apresentarem despacho judicial a autorizar os pedidos de reembolso de despesas, mas o bastonário sublinha que a lei pode prestar-se a dúvidas de interpretação.

Até 2008, os honorários do advogado eram fixados, efectivamente, por despacho judicial. Mas com a automatização do sistema esse passo foi eliminado e os advogados queixam-se de nunca lhes ter sido explicado se essa exigência se mantinha para as despesas extra-honorários. "O problema é que as regras não estão definidas, designadamente quanto ao tipo de despesas que podem ser apresentadas", explica Nuno Ferrão da Silva. No seu caso, está em causa um montante de 42,33. E cada parcela está "devidamente documentada".

"Quem cria estas plataformas tem obrigação de pensar nas implicações e tem de as explicar aos utilizadores", sublinha Teresa Férias. O SInOA, assim se chama o software informático, permite fazer o registo de todos os passos dados, desde o número de sessões em julgamento a outras parcelas pagas aos defensores, como as visitas a arguidos detidos. Há um item específico para as despesas.

À falta de regras claras, todos admitem que existam abusos. Haverá quem inclua papel, tinteiros, gastos difíceis de contabilizar. No passado, havia experiências para todos os gostos: juízes que autorizavam despesas e outros que as recusavam, considerando que os honorários dos advogados já contemplam todos os extras.

À Ordem dos Advogados têm chegado queixas e pedidos de clarificação, mas Marinho e Pinto explica que apenas tomará posição após o encontro com o ministro Alberto Martins. Até lá, há advogados - como Teresa Frias - que preferem aguardar pelas explicações. Outros assumiram desde já uma decisão, com base na interpretação que fazem da lei e dos factos.

"Fiz uma exposição ao instituto, com conhecimento para a Ordem dos Advogados", explica Laura Coelho. "A minha intenção é não pagar nada." Além de considerar "completamente ridículo" que só agora o problema tenha sido levantado, a advogada lembra que o IGFIJ paga sempre tarde e a más horas. "Dizem que estão a agir de acordo com a lei, mas são os primeiros a infringir", aponta.

A portaria n.o 10/2008 permite ao instituto tomar a iniciativa de promover, sempre que considere necessário, auditorias ao sistema de patrocínio oficioso.


http://www.ionline.pt/conteudo/61813-advogados-dos-pobres-chamados-devolver-pagamentos-despesas

MONACO SLIDESHOW

MONACO SLIDESHOW

THE PRINCELY PALACE OF MONACO

The Princely Palace of Monaco is one of the oldest monarchial homes in the world that is still in use today. Just as it has been for centuries past the Princely Palace is still the official residence of the Monegasque sovereign and, as such, is the heart of the political and social life of Monaco. Part of the unique beauty of the palace is the blending of styles, part modern Mediterranean palace, part medieval fortress, sharing Italian and French styles as well as others. This all goes back to the palace being originally built as a military fortress, a castle, by the Genoese republic in 1191. In 1297 the castle was taken by the House of Grimaldi but the transition from military bulwark to princely palace took a long time.

Over the centuries the Princely Palace that was once a castle was attacked many times, fought over in numerous small wars including Monaco and often changed hands. Seigneur Charles I of Monaco (r. 1331-1357) expanded the fortifications and constructed new buildings which saw the first shift in style from that of a military base to a residential home. Further expansions were made under Lords Lambert and Jean II, however, battles and skirmishes continued off and on until a lasting sense of peace and security was established by the alignment with the Kingdom of France. That, of course, was during the reign of HSH Prince Honore II.

A man of refined taste and a Francophone, Honore II embellished the palace with the works of some of the greatest artists of the Renaissance period and more or less completed the change from castle to palace. By the time his reign ended he had made it a place any French or Italian prince would be comfortable in, as able to entertain as to defend. In the years that followed the Princely Palace was further refined and decorated until it became known as the ‘Versailles of the Mediterranean’. Louis I spent lavishly on furnishings, his son Antoine more on defensive works as the threat of war crept closer to Monaco again. However, with the rise of Louis XIV in France and the importance attached to the court at Versailles a long period ensued in which most Princes of Monaco spent most of their time in France rather that at home.

Some additional work was done during the reign of Honore III, though he was also often absent, and it was during his reign that the Duke of York died in the palace, giving his name to one of the bedrooms. However, toward the end of his reign the outbreak of the French Revolution brought ruin and occupation to Monaco. The Princely Family was arrested in France, the country occupied, the palace looted and later turned into a military hospital and poor house for the revolutionaries. When the Revolution and Napoleonic Wars had passed and the House of Grimaldi was restored the palace had deteriorated considerably and some areas had to be demolished and replaced with new structures.

The rebuilding and restoration increased under Prince Charles III who was the next monarch to actually spend most of his time in Monaco. He went to great lengths to try to recover as much as possible of the art work and family treasures that had been stolen and dispersed at the time of the Revolution. Subsequent monarchs, however, spent much of their time abroad and the palace lingered in the rather gloomy atmosphere it acquired during the long period of Charles’ infirmity. This did not change until the arrival of Prince Albert I and his second wife, Princess Alice. Although the sovereign was often at sea, Princess Alice put her own touch on the palace and society life in Monaco as she encouraged art, learning, music and dance. The place became something of a haven for intellectuals alongside the flow of visitors of every stripe to the booming casino at Monte Carlo.

Prince Louis II did not spend much of his life in Monaco, being in the field with the French army most of the time, his most lasting legacy being the opening of the Napoleonic museum at the palace where the bathing pavilion of Honore II had once stood. However, when his successor Rainier III married the American film icon Grace Kelly the Princely Palace was steadily lived in again and, for the first time in a long time, became a family home. Princess Grace redecorated, which drew some snide comments about what were perceived as California styles, but such attitudes did not last long. Rainier and Grace also oversaw the restoration of much of the priceless artwork at the palace while carrying out their own renovations, mostly geared toward making the palace a more practical home. It was also under Rainier III that the palace became part office as the home base of the big business that was the Grimaldis’ Monaco.

Today, although again often traveling, Prince Albert II still maintains his formal residence at the Princely Palace which, in recent years, has become as much a tourist attraction as many other Monegasque landmarks. State rooms are open to the public in the summer months, parts have the appearance of a museum, but the smart changing of the guard every day reminds all that it is still a monarchial residence.
Posted by MadMonarchist at 12:58 AM
Labels: Monaco, place, Princely Palace

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