The office of Prosecutor General («Procurador-Geral da República»/PGR) — the sole Public Prosecutor subject to nomination by the political power —is based on the trust granted by both the President of the Republic and the Government: his or her appointment and removal from office are incumbent on the former upon proposal of the latter [article 133(m) of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic and article 175(1) of the Statute of the Public Prosecution Service/SPPS). The choice of the person suitable for the office is neither limited to a particular recruitment area, nor does it have to abide by specific training requirements.
During his or her six-year tenure of office [article 220(3) of the CPR, article 175(2) of the SPPS] the Prosecutor General is entrusted with powers to lead, to oversee, to represent and to implement (article 19 of the SPPS). Furthermore, she is assisted and substituted by the Vice-Prosecutor General [1] (article 20(1) of the SPPS).
The Prosecutor General’s substitution at the Supreme Court of Justice [2], the Constitutional Court [3], the Supreme Administrative Court [4] and the Court of Audit [5] is ensured by deputy prosecutors general (article 20(2) of the SPPS).
The PGR is assisted by his or her advisory staff [6] (article 19(6)(7) of the SPPS).
The PGR is granted the same rank, treatment and honours as those of the president of the Supreme Court of Justice, and s/he uses the same professional attire (article 110(1) of the SPPS).
The office has been held by Justice Lucília Gago [7] since 12 October 2018.
Links
[1] https://en.ministeriopublico.pt/en/pagina/vice-prosecutor-general
[2] https://en.ministeriopublico.pt/en/pagina/supreme-court-justice
[3] https://en.ministeriopublico.pt/en/pagina/constitutional-court
[4] https://en.ministeriopublico.pt/en/pagina/supreme-administrative-court
[5] https://en.ministeriopublico.pt/en/pagina/court-audit
[6] https://en.ministeriopublico.pt/en/pagina/advisory-staff
[7] https://en.ministeriopublico.pt/en/pagina/curriculum