The Administrative Court of the Lisbon Circle has on Monday ruled in favor of activist Renata Cambra, who had filed an appeal so that overnight stays of the tents be authorized as a symbol of the claim of the right to housing until November 24, the date on which the vote on the General State Budgets for 2027 is scheduled. The housing encampments in Lisbon and Porto had been dismantled on three occasions in the early hours of the morning during the last three Sundays through police actions described as violent by the protesters.
Judge Ana de Campos relies on a decree and rejects the Police’s use of a 1974 law to justify the evictions due to the "absolute and automatic time limit on the exercise of the fundamental right of assembly". In her ruling, she recognizes "the right to exercise the demonstration" until November 24 and orders the security forces to refrain from applying "measures of dispersal, cessation or suppression of the right of demonstration" as long as the protest is carried out in accordance with what is provided for in said decree.
The judge determines that forcing the end of the gathering at 0:30 a.m. without assessing the impact on fundamental rights violates the Portuguese Constitution, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.
The ruling also requires the Police to draft an "order with the grounds in the event that it considers that the conditions for dispersal, cessation or suppression" of the encampment are met, so that any future intervention is duly justified.
The judgment likewise addresses the controversy generated by the intention to set up a Christmas market in Pedro IV Square, or Rossio Square, in Lisbon, currently occupied by the tents. On this point it urges the authorities to "adopt solutions that accommodate and make both uses compatible", although, if no agreement were possible, it gives priority to the protest because it "affects the essential content of the right of demonstration".
Reactions of the Portuguese Government
The Ministry of Internal Administration has reacted through an official note in which it states that "it is clear that this is confined to an individual and concrete situation, delimited by the plaintiff's request".
The department headed by Luís Neves underscores that the ruling "does not examine the legality of police interventions or recognize the general right to set up permanent encampments in public space". It adds that it even "likewise safeguards the possibility of intervention by the authorities in situations of objective danger or noncompliance with the established conditions".
Political clash after the judicial ruling
From the opposition, the Socialist Party interprets the decision as a "thundering defeat" for Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and has called for "political consequences" in the Ministry of Internal Administration, according to the parliamentary spokesperson, Eurico Brilhante Dias.
"During the last few weeks, the Government without a secure legal basis has given political instructions to the PSP (Police) to carry out five violent police charges against demonstrators who were demonstrating peacefully", he has denounced, accusing the Executive of "political instrumentalization" of the Police.
The main party of the radical right, Chega, maintains on its part that the ruling "disavows" the security forces, although it emphasizes that "the decisions of the courts are to be complied with".
"This decision disavows the forces of order and removes legitimacy from those who have to contain violence and anarchy in protests (...). This decision further encourages anarchy and the prevailing confusion", the national leadership of Chega has stated in a communiqué.
For this reason, the party calls for the approval "urgently" in the Assembly of the Republic of "clear legislation for everyone", which "leaves no room for doubt and ensures all fundamental rights and duties".
The mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, has shown his compliance with the judicial ruling and has appealed for "calm and serenity" to reach "solutions". He has also reiterated his willingness "100% to listen" to the encamped people.