Presentation

The multiple transformations in the State and society have lead to profound changes in both the sociological profile of the courts' performance and the social context of justice. The emergence or greater visibility of certain forms of criminality, the media coverage of justice, the law globalization, the escalation of social inequalities, the emergence of new public risks within several areas and the demands from the economy to the course of justice - these are all changes, among many, which pose difficult challenges to the justice system and its actors. This new context. and the growing social and political leading role of the justice system and the rule of Law, both considered to be essential bases of the democratic State, tend to cause consecutive reform processes, increasingly confronting justice professionals, as well as other professionals who frequently deal with this sector, with the need to monitor this whole process of transformation.

The offered advanced training courses allow, not only the trainees' technical qualification, but also the development of good practices and the best standards and procedures, thus significantly contributing to the modernization, efficiency and end effectiveness of the justice system's general performance, and to a better articulation of legal institutions, both internally and with other State and civil society institutions.

The designed programs are intended as a space of advanced training, continuous and interdisciplinary, focused on the competences and needs of the participating professionals, exploring the different thematic fields which challenge the legal sciences, legal culture and the courts' operation within the Portuguese society. In this sense, it is prioritized a pragmatic approach to the selected training subjects, exposing the trainees to the most polemic cases and providing them the reflective instruments which facilitate a critical and justified interpretation of the solutions and dilemmas, theoretical or operational, raised in the training's context.
By limiting the number of registrations to 40 trainees, we seek to focus the training on the participants and the discussion of the problems presented by the trainers' initial communication (model: seminar and roundtable).

It will also be created an online discussion Forum which will keep all participants in contact, aiming at providing a space for the discussion of ideas, experiences, readings and relevant information which may extend the training interaction beyond the strict context of the seminar/roundtable.

General programme for the advanced training courses

1st Course: “The prison system: between security and reintegration. The new legal system for execution of custodial sentences”
Coordenador: José Mouraz Lopes (ASJP)
Dates: 18, 19, 25 and 26 March, 2011
Venue: Centre for Social Studies of University of Coimbra

2nd Course: “Risk society and compensation for damages”
Coordinators: José Manuel Mendes (CES/UC) and José Igreja Matos (ASJP)
Dates: 18, 19, 25 and 26 March, 2011
Venue: Centre for Social Studies of University of Coimbra

2nd Course: “Constitution and Labour Law”
Coordinators: Luís Azevedo Mendes (ASJP) and Manuel Carvalho da Silva (CES/UC) and Viriato Reis (SMMP)
Dates: 18, 19, 25 and 26 November, 2011
Venue: Centre for Social Studies of University of Coimbra

4th Course: “Organization and management of criminal investigation”
Coordinators: Conceição Gomes (OPJ/CES) and José Mouraz Lopes (ASJP)
Dates: 6, 7, 13, 14 and 20 January, 2012
Venue: Centre for Social Studies - Lisbon

Organization
Portuguese Judges’ Association (ASJP) and Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra / Permanent Observatory for Portuguese Justice  (CES/OPJ)

Coordination
José Mouraz Lopes, Luís Azevedo Mendes, Nuno Coelho - ASJP
Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Casimiro Ferreira e Conceição Gomes - CES/OPJ