Translated from Portuguese. The Portuguese version prevails. Ler em português
President of the Constitutional Court
Laurinda Jacinto Prazeres
Message from the President of the Constitutional Court
With all due respect, allow me to address a message to those subject to the Court's jurisdiction and, in particular, to the citizens who turn to the justice services to see their constitutionally enshrined rights and guarantees safeguarded.
The building of a sense of justice in which citizens can recognise themselves must be the resounding pillar of each and every seed that seeks to consolidate the struggle for the social rights of a people. In this dimension, the Constitution takes on the noble mission of organising society rationally, especially in its political and administrative aspect.
The consolidation of the Democratic State based on the Rule of Law, as a founding element for the development of a legal and constitutional environment conducive to the gradual exercise of constitutional prerogatives, seeks to safeguard the lawfulness of the acts of the State towards its fellow citizens, so that the much-desired attainment of constitutional dignity and maturity may become a reality.
The creation of the Constitutional Court serves precisely to reinforce the State's concern to reaffirm respect for the inviolable values of the protection of fundamental rights and of the principles of human dignity, the unity of the Constitution, legal certainty and effective judicial protection, among other elements that contribute to the realisation of constitutional justice in the country.
In this context, and so that the purpose of constitutional justice may be felt, it is imperative to stress that the process of constitutional interpretation peculiar to this august Court must coexist with the logical nature of the constitutional genesis, achieving due balancing in the process of constitutional review and in compliance with the substantive and formal limits of our Constitution of the Republic of Angola (CRA), as reflected in the judicial activity of the constitutional judges.
We foresee many challenges in the coming years in the social, political and legal spheres, which will certainly require, in cases where this constitutional court is called upon to rule, prompt intervention with the aim of favouring institutional dialogue and respect for the law and the Constitution.
Finally, in this new “consulship” we shall seek to carry out our activity while respecting the subject-matter jurisdiction of the other courts, in particular the ordinary courts, without prejudice to making clear the meaning and scope of our decisions, which are to be complied with by those to whom they are addressed.
Luanda, 20 August 2021
(Laurinda Prazeres Cardoso)
The President of the Constitutional Court