The Centre for Social Studies (CES), through its Permanent Observatory of Justice (OPJ), was once again selected by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) to elaborate studies on the Rule of Law and the promotion and protection of fundamental rights in Portugal. The new contract, resulting from an international call for tenders, places CES/OPJ once again among the entities that integrate FRANET, the FRA’s multidisciplinary research network, for the period between 2023 and 2027, demonstrating the recognition of the scientific quality of the work previously carried out for this European entity.

The FRANET network is considered the “arm” of the FRA in the Member States of the European Union and has as its main objectives the collection and analysis of information and data regarding the main challenges faced in the field of Rule of Law and protection and promotion of fundamental rights, contributing to the comparative analyses of the Agency. Topics such as equality and non-discrimination, racism, xenophobia, migration, hate speech, access to justice, children’s rights, rights of persons with disabilities, data protection and privacy, and social protection systems, among many others, will be studied throughout the contract period.

This project is particularly relevant in the current context of setbacks and complex challenges to fundamental rights in Europe, consisting of a stimulus to reflect on this area’s main challenges. During the term of the first contract, between 2018 and 2022, CES/OPJ developed 44 projects for the FRA, of diverse size and complexity, involving about 30 researchers and national experts, and the results of some of them are published in reports accessible on the respective institutional website. The reports present objective, reliable and comparable data on fundamental rights issues, contributing to the comparative analyses of the FRA at the EU level, as well as supporting the definition of sectoral policies by the European Commission and the European Council.

The beginning of this partnership was marked with a meeting in May 2023, attended by FRANET members from the 27 Member States in Vienna, with the participation, in representation of CES/OPJ, of João Paulo Dias, where the strategic objectives and the main areas of study for the coming years were discussed. The project, coordinated by João Paulo Dias, Conceição Gomes and Marina Henriques integrates a team of experienced professionals linked to law, sociology and psychology, among other scientific areas, with different profiles and experience in the development of research projects focusing on the multiple dimensions of the Rule of Law and the promotion and protection of fundamental rights. The estimated budget is around 500,000 euros.