Portugal's top prosecutor urges parliament to overhaul 1974 protest law

Amadeu Guerra, the Procurador-geral da República, challenged the Assembleia da República on Monday to review the 1974 decree that sets the framework for public demonstrations. He rejected the idea of submitting the law to the Tribunal Constitucional for a constitutional review, stating that no evident necessity exists for such a move at this time. Guerra made the remarks during a lecture on asset recovery at the Faculdade de Direito da Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

The decree has come under scrutiny following two weeks of housing-rights occupations in Porto and Lisbon, which were dispersed by the PSP in the early hours. He emphasized that the parliament holds the competence to mature the issue and act accordingly. The prosecutor’s stance signals a push for legislative reconsideration rather than judicial intervention.