The Minister of Justice, Sérgio de Jesus Fernandes da Costa Hornai, met in Lisbon on October 15^th, 2024, with his Portuguese counterpart, Rita Alarcão Júdice, to deepen bilateral cooperation between the Ministries of Justice of both countries. This meeting continued the joint efforts already initiated in previous meetings, focussed on sharing knowledge and strengthening institutional capacities in judicial training, criminal investigation, registries, and notaries. 

During the meeting, various technical assistance and cooperation methods were discussed, aimed at strengthening the training of magistrates, public defenders, prosecutors and judges. The partnership aims to provide theoretical and practical training programmes and internships, benefiting graduates of Course VII and future participants in Course VIII, which is scheduled to open in 2025.

The technical collaboration will also be extended to the Scientific and Criminal Investigation Police (PCIC – acronym in Portuguese), with the willingness to send criminal investigation experts and scientific laboratories from the Judicial Police to increase the capacity of human resources and strengthen technical assistance in this area. 

In the area of registries and notaries, the provision of technical and administrative assistance by the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN) and the General Directorate of Registry and Notary Services (DGSRN) was discussed. This cooperation will focus on inspecting and evaluating land registry services and digitising database systems to improve the efficiency of registration and notary services in Timor-Leste.

The Minister of Justice of Timor-Leste, Sérgio de Jesus Fernandes da Costa Hornai, is in Lisbon accompanying the Prime Minister, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, on his official visit to Portugal. On October 14^th, the Strategic Cooperation Plan between the two countries for the period 2024-2028 was signed, which includes, among its components, the strengthening of cooperation in the justice sector. 

It is worth remembering that the Portuguese Minister of Justice, Rita Alarcão Júdice, paid an official visit to Timor-Leste last June 2024, intending to strengthen bilateral cooperation, especially in justice sector reform.