“It is a project that is being developed with the higher judiciary councils and we are working on it at the moment”, Rita Alarcão Júdice told Lusa.

“This was an idea that emerged in the plan to support immigration and also to respond to an increase in the flow of cases that were reaching the courts”, explained the minister.

The creation of this specialised court is part of the Migration Action Plan, presented last week by the Government. The idea has already received the support of the vice-president of the Superior Council of Judiciary, Luís Azevedo Mendes, who highlighted the burden on administrative courts with requests for subpoenas from the Agency for Integration, Migrations and Asylum (AIMA) to regularise the situation of thousands of immigrants.

“We have to group all of this into a single jurisdictional structure, whilst maintaining the independence of the courts, naturally, and of the administrative and judicial courts themselves, but we want to create a combination that can increase the efficiency of resources and response”, explained Rita Alarcão Júdice.

The minister highlighted that the “process is ongoing”, and that the Ministry of Justice is already working with the higher judicial councils and that there is already “a place to install the support”.