The Supreme Court of Justice ( pt, Supremo Tribunal de Justiça, , STJ) is the highest court of law in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

without prejudice to the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court. The judges of the STJ are referred to as "counselors" (''conselheiros''). Its president is elected by and from among the judges of the court. The STJ is installed in the buildings of the northern wing of the ''

Terreiro do Paço Terreiro is a town and commune of Angola, located in the province of Cuanza Norte. See also * Communes of Angola The Communes of Angola ( pt, comunas) are administrative units in Angola after municipalities. The 163 municipalities of Ango ...

'' square in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Competences

The competences of the Supreme Court of Justice are the following: *To try the President of Portugal, the President of the Assembly of the Republic and the

Prime Minister of Portugal The prime minister of Portugal ( pt, primeiro-ministro; ) is the head of government of Portugal. As head of government, the prime minister coordinates the actions of ministers, represents the Government of Portugal to the other bodies of state, ...

for crimes committed during the exercise of their office; *To harmonize rulings by setting uniform

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

; *To hear appeals in matters of law; *To try crimes committed by the members of the Supreme Court, of the Courts of Appeal or Public Prosecutors.

History

The Supreme Court of Justice was created in 1833, in the scope of the separation of the

judicial power The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudication, adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and app ...

from the others, dictated by the establishment of the Portuguese Constitutional Monarchy. The STJ replaced the ancient higher courts of the kingdom, namely the Board of Conscience and Orders (''Mesa da Consciência e Ordens'') created in 1532, the ''Desembargo'' of the Palace (''Desembargo do Paço'') regulated in 1533 and the Council of State (''Conselho de Estado'') regulated in 1562. The judges of the STJ inherited the title of "counselors" until then worn by the members of the Board of Conscience and Orders and of the Council of State.

References

External links

Politics of Portugal Law of Portugal

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Courts and tribunals with year of establishment missing {{Portugal-gov-stub