For the president of the SNMMP in Angola, Adelino Fançony, the courts are institutions that work within an organizational system whose functioning depends on the impulse of human resources, namely judges and court officials.
"And the lack of these elements makes the system ineffective", said the magistrate commenting on the first phase of the national strike by bailiffs, which began last March 20 and is in its final week.
The biggest consequence of this stoppage, he said, "is the postponement of many steps, such as the trial, the production of evidence".
"And we are not yet carrying out a study to determine the number of hearings that should be postponed due to this strike", he stressed, considering that the stoppage should double the length of the processes that are being processed in the courts.
"See that one of the biggest judicial problems in the country is the slowness of the processes and when there are these strikes, then, this slowness doubles", he pointed out.
The first phase of this national strike convened by the Union of Officials of Justice of Angola (SOJA), and which covers the courts of first and second instance, ends on Friday, April 14.
Better working conditions, career promotions, approval of a new remuneration statute, lack of transport for errands, subsidies and incentives at court level are some of SOJA's claims.
Adelino Fançony, who says he supports SOJA, also considers that the strike "compromises" the safeguarding of the rights and freedoms of citizens, eager for justice, as this constitutes one of the main functions of the courts.
The leader of the National Union of Magistrates of the Public Ministry of Angola also hopes for a dialogue between the parties for the resolution of this dispute.
