The Minister of Justice announced the establishment of a new law, determining new criteria of recruitment for the position of judge, where professional experience in the Public Prosecutor’s Office and in the Public Defender’s Office is one of those criteria. The announcement was made in advance by the Minister of Justice, Dionísio Babo, during a meeting with the President of the Court of Appeal and the Prosecutor-General, at the Ministry of Justice, on the last week of August.

The Minister explained that “in the future, to become a judge, it won’t be enough to conclude a graduate and a masters degree. The candidate to a judge position will need to have professional experience in the Public Prosecutor’s Office and in the Public Defender’s Office. Without professional experience, he/she might dominate the subject but hasn’t the capacity to make decisions. It is now time to make an option on the quality of the service and not only on the quantity”.

The President of the Court of Appeal, Cláudio Ximenes, was pleased with the establishment of new recruitment criteria for judges, considering that these criteria will improve the quality of the work. “At least, to become a judge, the candidate shall already have professional experience”, he said.

The Prosecutor General, José Ximenes, also agreed with “the idea of the Minister of Justice and his Vice Minister to establish a law ruling the access of candidates to the position of judge. After getting their degree, they cannot be judges yet, for their decisions over cases that are given to them might prejudice or undermine the justice sector in Timor Leste”, considers the Prosecutor-General.