Projects
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics: Legal Challenges for the XXI Century
Description:
This project aims to aggregate the research of several JusGov members, from different specialty areas (Civil Law, Labour Law, Commercial Law, Criminal Law, Public and Private International Law, European Union Law, etc.), in order to identify for each of them the challenges and problems that AI and Robotics raise or may raise in the near future. Given the fact that the development of AI has reached levels that predict the need for intervention by the legislator in the short/medium term, the aim is to discuss and structure, in the end, proposals for legislation or interpretative solutions that allow for the solution of the problems identified in each area.
It is therefore an interdisciplinary project, bringing together several areas of Law, Computer Science, Bioethics, etc. In an initial phase, each researcher proceeded to identify the problems at stake, discussing the results of this preliminary research in one of four Webinars/Conferences structured around common areas: Health Law and Bioethics; Judicial Law; International/Transnational Law; Private Law. A fifth Conference open to Young Researchers was also held.
With the contributions of this discussions, a second phase was opened, to prepare proposals for solutions to the problems identified, which will be presented at an International Congress, which will also allow for the exchange of ideas and knowledge/solution proposals with foreign colleagues.
In a third phase, the research results will be made available to the public, through the publication of a collective book.
Duration: January 2021 to December 2022
PI: Sónia Moreira
Co-PI: Pedro Freitas
Team: Ana Flávia Messa, Ana Isabel Guerra, Anabela Gonçalves, Assunção Pereira, Diana Coutinho, Francisco Andrade, João Nuno Barros, Joana Covelo Abreu, Isa António, Marco Gonçalves, Maria Miguel Carvalho, Miriam Rocha, Patrícia Borges, Pedro Dias Venâncio, Rossana Martingo Cruz.
Participation of young researchers: António Cruz Oliveira, Diogo Morgado Rebelo, Sávio Bittencourt, Sofia Alcaide, Rui Zilhão.
CitDig – Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence “Digital citizenship and technological sustainability: achieving CFREU effectiveness in the digital decade”
Description: Under the heading of the “2030: Digital Decade”, strengthening people’s awareness on the CFREU – as well as empowering civil society organisations, justice practitioners and academic communities – is an imperative for survival of democracy and rule of law in the EU. But who in fact are the addressees of the provisions of the CFREU? Article 51(1) CFREU highlights the vertical effect of its norms – that is, their relevance to relations between the authorities exercising public power and individuals or legal persons –, apparently excluding their applicability to relations between individuals or legal persons. It is true that the horizontal effect of fundamental rights is not accepted in the vast majority of Member States’ Constitutions – even though, through the infra-constitutional regulation of private relations between individuals, fundamental rights eventually have horizontal effect in some areas. Why the horizontal effect of the EU fundamental rights is so relevant to the digital citizenship? Because today private actors, such as online platforms, define their own terms and business models, assuming functions that are intrinsically connected to the exercise of public power – but without the desirable transparency, accountability, explainability and reasonableness of processes and decisions. It is indispensable to ensure that the exercise of power, particularly by private entities which dominate the digital environment, is limited by an adequate framework of legal norms. The value of the rule of law (Article 2 TUE) underlies the defence of citizens against any power, submitting power to the law. This challenges EU to join constitutional forces and to make the digital decade an opportunity for the fundamental rights protection in a Union based on the rule of law. In this context, sustainability is shaped as a matrix concept of the digital decade, defining the conditions and the assumptions for legal regulation in a context of permanent technological evolution.
Duration: October 2022 to September 2025
Team: Alessandra Silveira, Pedro Froufe, Joana Covelo Abreu, Francisco Andrade, Carlos Abreu Amorim, Paulo Novais, Francisco Pereira Coutinho (University Nova of Lisbon) and Alexandre Veronese (University of Brasília)
Website: CitDig – Centro de Excelência Jean Monnet (uminho.pt)
Collaborative Economy
Description: The goal of the project is to map the legal problems associated with the collaborative economy and to make an assessment of the solutions put forward to deal with those problems, discussing the need for legal reforms and/or the adoption of new regulations. The project brings together a multidisciplinary team involving lawyers, economists and IT scholars.
Duration: December 2019 – June 2021
Co-PI: Anabela Gonçalves
Team: Ana Isabel Guerra, Andreia Barbosa, Conceição Soares Fatela, Gravato Morais, Irene Gomes, Isa Meireles, Isabel Correia, Isabel Fonseca, João Sérgio Ribeiro, Marco Gonçalves, Maria João Lourenço, Miriam Rocha, Paula Veiga, Pedro Dias Venâncio, Pedro Freitas, Pedro Froufe, Rossana Cruz, Rui Polónia, Tiago Branco
Corruption, Democracy and Human Rights
Description: The main objective of this project is to study the phenomenon of corruption, in its different aspects and manifestations, making an effort of comparison with the reality of other countries (in particular, Spain and Brazil) to check the legal framework in force, to assess the impact that corruption has had on the spectrum of the democratic institutions and the Rule of Law, and what measures have been taken to overcome it. It is hoped that this project, in addition to providing a clear picture of the state of affairs in this area, will result in proposals for legislative or policy developments to improve the mechanisms for the prevention and repression of corruption.
Duration: 2018-2021
Co-PI: Mário Monte
Team: Carla Mondim, Fernando Conde Monteiro, Fernando Portomeñe, Francisco Andrade, Gonçalo Mello Bandeira, Gumersindo Cabada, Manuel Simas Santos, Margarida Santos, Paulo Silva Fernandes, Pedro Freitas
Partners: University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Equality and Cultural Difference in the Practice of Portuguese Courts: Challenges and Opportunities for an Inclusive Society (InclusiveCourts)
Description: The project seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the legal challenges raised by cultural diversity in Europe, by looking into the practice of Portuguese courts. It focuses on the way courts deal with concepts such as identity, culture, ethnicity and religion, and on the way they balance equality and respect for cultural difference in a wide range of cases. It involves a detailed inventory and review of the cultural diversity related case law of Portuguese courts since 1976, in light of theoretical debates about multiculturalism and human rights and of the international legal framework at global and regional level. By comparing the Portuguese judicial practice with existing reports from other domestic jurisdictions, the project will advance the current state of comparative research on multicultural jurisprudence in Europe. Through the involvement of judicial actors, the project aims to identify best practices and to set up guidelines for ‘diversity aware’ courts in Portugal.
Duration: 1 October 2018 – 30 September 2021
Co-PI: Manuela Ivone Cunha
Team: Andreia Rodrigues, Andreia Sofia Pinto Oliveira, Benedita Mac Crorie, Clara Calheiros, Cristina Dias, Fernando Ferreira Alves, Flávia Noversa Loureiro, Inês Costa, Jean-Yves Durand, Maria Cardeira da Silva, Maria José Casa-Nova, Mário Ferreira Monte, Miriam Rocha, Pedro Freitas, Sílvia Gomes, Teresa Moreira, Ximene Rego.
Partners: Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA)
Funding: FCT
Site: www.inclusivecourts.pt
eUjust – EU Procedure and credits’ claims: approaching electronic solutions under e-Justice paradigm
Description: ICT technology and digital approach are shaping the implemented solutions in the European Union through the Digital Single Market (DSM) political goal. Under DSM strategy, e-Justice appeared as one of its paradigms. Digital tools on legal solutions are now being settled to facilitate cross-border justice and to continue to engage both European organic courts and national courts that, when applying EU law, are acting as functioning ones.
Main improvements have been noticed on proceedings concerning credits’ claims to develop market’s efficacy: digital components are becoming a reality, as Council’s e-Justice 2019-2023 Action Plan continues to express.
e-Justice portal is functioning as a true one-stop shop for both practitioners and citizens and e-CODEX is now being applied to hastily connect national digital procedural solutions to overcome cross-border difficulties. Also e-CURIA – the platform used before the ECJ – met some improvements during 2018 to quickly answer digital transformation demands.
Taking into account such developments and the new settled e-Justice 2019-2023 framework, Portuguese students, practitioners, policy makers/stakeholders seem not to be fully aware of these realities. Academia must, in this sense, sensitize Portuguese students, legal practitioners, policy makers/stakeholders on these new realities and opportunities. The best way to do so is to engage that audience in continuous formation, as the one University of Minho already presents, and through new academic formulas, as Intensive Courses – in a Summer School style – so it can be aware of this digital approach full potential.
Duration: september 2019 – agaust 2022
Team: Alessandra Silveira e Pedro Madeira Froufe
Website: https://eujust.direito.uminho.pt
Law, Environment Sustainability and Human Development
Description: The project seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the legal challenges raised by the use of law as a tool to promote environment sustainability in a manner that is compatible with human development. It focuses on the way different legal disciplines, such as International Law, European Law, Administrative Law, Tax Law, Criminal Law, Territorial Planning Law, Environment Law, Civil Law, Food Law, Water Law, Space Law and Law of the sea, may impact the way environment sustainability and human development are tackled. The project has several phases. During the first phase, which is already being implemented, there will be call for papers to address the way different areas of law can be used to promote environment sustainability and human development. Those papers will be presented and, subsequently, debated by experts from other scientific areas, such as scientists, political authorities and representatives of civil society during three distinct conferences. One involving local players, another involving national players and a final one involving European and International players. Workshops aiming at creating awareness of environment sustainability and human development will be organized for youngsters, companies and representatives of local governments. The outcome of these debates, together with the papers produced by the team and guest authors, will materialize in an edited volume to be translated into Mandarin, English and Spanish for higher visibility.
Duration: 1 September 2018 – 30 September 2020
Co-PI: Wladimir Brito
Team: Anabela Gonçalves, António Cândido de Oliveira, Benedita Mac Crorie, Carlos Amorim, Cláudia Viana, Flávia Noversa Loureiro, Irene Portela, Isa António, Isabel Fonseca, Joana Covelo de Abreu, Joaquim Rocha, Maria de Assunção do Vale Pereira, Nuno Manuel Pinto Oliveira, Patrícia Jerónimo, Pedro Ferreira, Paulo Jorge Teixeira da Veiga e Moura, Pedro Carlos da Silva Bacelar de Vasconcelos, Ricardo Cunha, Sophie Perez, Wladimir Brito.
Law in Medicine
Description: The main purpose of the project is the dissemination of legal knowledge in the area of medicine, exploring the legal problems that arise in this field. To this extent it will be explored and researched topics such as medical liability, patients’ rights and duties, the relationship between the health professionals and the patients, medical confidentiality, personal data, the clinical process, informed consent, ethical and professional issues. The project is aimed at students and health practitioners (doctors, nurses, psychologists, hospital managers) and students and legal practitioners (lawyers, judges and legal counselors). The aim is to increase the understanding and awareness of those who have to work on the fields of medicine and law, developing a common expertise between these interrelated categories of knowledge. The aim is to stimulate discussion about medical-legal issues, to provide practice-oriented training in order to contribute to a better and efficient exercise of the professional activity of health professionals, to avoid the mass complaints and lawsuits filed against health professionals and to contribute to the improvement of the relationships established between health professionals and patients. Health professionals do not often have an in-depth knowledge of medical-legal issues, which increases the proliferation of patient complaints and lawsuits, with serious practical consequences for health professionals, medical institutions, and patients. Additionally, this issue has not been sufficiently investigated within the scope of the law, and there is a notable lack of knowledge among jurists about it. Despite its practical relevance, this is a topic that is not very developed in law schools and is practically unknown among health professionals.
Duration: 2019-2022
Co-PI: Margarida Santos
Team: Cláudia Figueiras, Diana Coutinho, Isa Meireles, João Nuno Barros, Maria João Lourenço, Miriam Rocha, Rui Polónia
Legal language, legal hermeneutics and the legitimacy of legal decisions
Description: The judicial decision is now an irrefutable part in the construction of any legal order. The project aims to reflect on the linguistic and hermeneutic dimensions of the judicial decision as grounding for its potentially discretionary nature. It also seeks to assess the scope of this discretionary power – and the language in which it is embedded, balancing the needs for public intelligibility with those of professional and scientific accuracy – in the context of our current democratic states, under the rule of law, and within legislative frameworks which are due to operate in dynamic and multicultural societies. The question of the legitimacy of this judiciary will also be examined, in particular through the obligation to state reasons for decisions taken, both in terms of fact as in terms of law, and through the analysis of the role played in this field by different notions of truth, factual and semantic determinability, or normative and discursive rationality.
Duration: 2018-2022
Co-PI: Clara Calheiros
Team: Ana Beatriz Silva Faria, Ana Carolina Trindade Cohen, Clementino Tiago Balsa, José Carlos Velho,Miriam Rocha, Ricardo Macedo Menna Barreto, Sofia Crista Marques, Thiago Coutinho de Oliveira
Meaning and purpose of criminal sanctions: For a more humane system of penalties (Penalties+Humane)
Description: The project aims to study criminal sanctions from the combined perspectives of Law and Criminology. It will take stock of the meaning and purpose of criminal sanctions by covering four distinct dimensions: (a) normative (critical study of criminal law); (b) judicial (review of leading cases); (c) penitentiary (enforcement of criminal sanctions); and (d) sociological (practical implications of a social nature for the convicted person and his or her family). The main purpose of the project is to ascertain the extent to which the penal system fulfils its preventive and humanitarian goals, and whether it can be developed towards a greater humanization, both in its conception and in its execution. The project will discuss inter aliaproposals regarding a dritte spur(third path) of criminal sanctions, or even Restorative Justice, to move towards a reparative and reconciling dimension of criminal sanctions (criminal law of reparation). The project will focus on the Portuguese legal system, while comparing it with the Brazilian and the German legal systems. It will furthermore involve academics and judicial actors from different Portuguese-speaking countries.
Duration: 2018-2021
PI: Mário Monte
Co-PI: Pedro Freitas
Team: Clovis Demarchi, Diogo Pinto da Costa, Fernando da Costa Gonçalves, Fernando Conde Monteiro, Flávia Noversa Loureiro, Helena Grangeia, Joana Aguiar e Silva,Leonor Assunção, Madalena Oliveira, Manuel Simas Santos, Margarida Santos, Marisalva Fávero, Nestor Santiago, Olga Furriel Cruz, Paulo Silva Fernandes, Selma Santana,Valéria Gomes
Partners: UNIVALI (AICTS)
Online alternative dispute resolution
Description: New technologies are increasingly influencing the means of alternative dispute resolution, which can be carried out – fully or partially – online. In their original version, they are called ODR – Online Dispute Resolution methods. The current situation, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has made this issue even more pressing, justifying a comprehensive reflection on this matter, through the different means of ADR and the various branches of law.”
Duration: 1 January 2021 – 31 January 2022
Coordination: Francisco Andrade, Marco Gonçalves and Rossana Martingo Cruz
PUBLIC FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND JUDICIAL POWER: When Courts use the lack of public money as a decision argument
Description: the present project attempts to capture the meaning and scope of jurisdictional decisions, when in the underlying disputes, issues of austerity and lack of public funds emerge. In particular, it seeks to ascertain whether the courts are sensitive to the crisis, considering the lack of money as a legal criterion of motivation, or whether they simply protect themselves under the classical legality, deciding only on strictly positivistic criteria. The issue is relevant in the most diverse areas where money is lacking, with courts having to decide between a strict application of the law or one that introduces corrective components, possibly restricting rights: (i) in the scope of healthcare provision by public institutions; (ii) in the context of contracted loans by local authorities; (iii) in the context of institutionalizing children or young people at risk; (iv) in the decree of effective prison sentences or obligations to remain at home; or (v) in checking the constitutionality of rules that provide for tax increases or cuts in public expenditure (e.g., salaries, pensions). This set of issues is particularly revelant in a context in which the courts have special duties of attention and care in relation to the reality in which they operate. Furthermore, the state of need that characterizes current corporate structures cannot be neglected.
Duration: … – December 2022
Team: Andreia Barbosa, Cristina Dias, Hugo Flores da Silva, Joana Abreu, Rossana Martingo Cruz, Tiago Lopes Azevedo
Robotics, Society and Labour
Description: This project aims to research the modifications arising out of the introduction of robots in daily life and its impact on law, in the context of organizational modifications and its subsequent need for adaptation of legal rules. This project will start from the computational reality, alongside the most recent technical developments and begin a process of legal reflection on the consequences of the introduction of software and robots with higher and higher degrees of autonomy. The technical concepts will be the starting point. It is intended to consider the adaptation of concepts from computational science to the legal framework. These concepts include “agent” and “object” as well as “robot” and “mechanism. From this, traditional legal concepts and institutes shall be revisited. The problems of will considering the existence of intentional states in software and robots shall be equated. And, from this, the traditional legal institutes of liabilities and torts, in both civil and criminal domains, will be questioned and developed. This will be done in full consideration of the characteristics of new electronic entities, mainly autonomy, the capacity of learning, pro-activity and sociability. The impacts on organized society will then be analysed. This will be done at both the level of public administration, considering the transformation and adaptation of the urban areas to a new connectivity and interactivity (smart cities) and at the level of entrepreneurial organizations, with particular focus in the modifications that will necessarily occur in the domain of labour relationships.
Duration: 2019-2021
Co-PI: Teresa Coelho Moreira
Team: Diogo Azevedo, Joana Covelo de Abreu, Marciele Berger Bernardes, Paulo Jorge Freitas Novais, Pedro Freitas, Sónia Moreira, Tiago Azevedo
Partners: Centro de Investigação Algoritmi (University of Minho), Telles e Associados – Sociedade de Advogados
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the CPLP: Human Rights and Public Policies (SOGI-CPLP)
Description: The project aims to contribute to a better understanding of how respect for sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) is being publicly discussed and translated into legislation, judicial practice and public policies in the Member States of the Portuguese Speaking Countries Community (CPLP) – i.e. Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Equatorial-Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe, and Timor-Leste. Within international human rights law, there is a well-established framework to promote respect for sexual orientation and gender identity. In spite of being bound by largely similar international human rights standards, CPLP Member States have different legal and policy approaches to the regulation of consensual same-sex acts between adults, protection against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and enjoyment of fundamental rights by LGBTI+ individuals. The project consists primarily of a comparative study designed to (a) map the similarities and the differences among the CPLP Member States (legal framework and policy options in such fields as health care, access to justice, education and employment), (b) explain those similarities and differences, and (c) derive policy recommendations from the findings.
Duration: 1 October 2019 – 30 September 2023
Co-PI: Ana Lúcia Sá
Team: Benedita Mac Crorie, Douglas Weber, Giulia Daniele, Larissa Coelho, Maria de Assunção do Vale Pereira, Ricardo Falcão, Rui Garrido and Yonatan Gez
Partner: CEI – Centro de Estudos Internacionais (Center for International Studies), Instituto Universitário de Lisboa
Smart Cities and Law, E.Governance and Rights: Contributing to the definition and implementation of a Global Strategy for Smart Cities
Description: The project consists of fundamental and empirical research on smart cities, to be conducted by a multidisciplinary research team involving lawyers, computer engineers and civil engineers. It focuses on three key challenges faced by policy makers, legislators and public administrators when dealing with the goal of promoting smart cities and digital transition: (i) the adoption of digital technologies in the management of public organisations; (ii) the promotion of cities where technologies are an integral part of the urban fabric and social practices, including matters concerning public bodies and the labour relations between them and their employees; and (iii) the solution of problems arising out of the treatment of data, with the difficult balance between an open (or circular) economy of data and the protection of citizens’ privacy and secrets. The team will engage in the theoretical debates about the concept of smart cities and about the legal and ethical frame of reference for city governance, covering various aspects of smart cities, such as smart mobility (of people, goods and data), urban planning models, and urban micro-logistics.
Duration: May 2021 – April 2023
Website: O Projeto – Smart Cities and Law
Team: Alessandra Silveira, Ana Fragata, Anabela Gonçalves, António D. Costa, César Analide, Francisco Andrade, Joana Covêlo de Abreu, Luís Amaral, Marciele Berger Bernardes, Paulo Novais and Teresa Moreira.
Funding: Co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), under the NORTE-45-2020-75 call – Strengthening Research, Technological Development and Innovation – “Structured R&D&I Projects” – Horizon Europe, within the framework of the Norte’s Regional Operational Programme (Norte 2020), of the Portugal 2020.
The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance: Taking stock of the past and envisioning the future
Description: This research project will contribute to a better understanding of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, the oldest diplomatic alliance still in force. It will mark the 650th anniversary of the Alliance by conducting a comprehensive assessment of its past and present interactions, as well as its future in a context marked by the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
This project involves – for the first time in a long-term project about the Alliance – an interdisciplinary group of Portuguese and British researchers from various fields of law, history, political science, palaeography-diplomatic, literature and musicology. It brings together the Humanities and Social Sciences Divisions of the University of Oxford, the JusGov (University of Minho), the CHSC (University of Coimbra), the CICP (University of Évora/University of Minho), the Institute for Political Studies (Católica University – Lisbon), and researchers from Cardiff University and Nova University of Lisbon. Collectively, they will analyse the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance from four perspectives – legal, political, historical and cultural – complementing each other in providing a deeper understanding of key moments from the Alliance’s past and present, and in envisioning its future.
The research project will contribute to the programme of events celebrating the 650th anniversary of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance in both Portugal and the United Kingdom, joining the Portugal-UK 650 initiative.
Duration: September 2021- December 2024
PI: Alexandra Rodrigues Araújo
Co-PI: João Sérgio Ribeiro
Team: Allan Tatham, Ana Lúcia Curado, Evanthia Balla, Jenny Benham, Joana Aguiar e Silva, João Carlos Espada, José Pedro Paiva, Liam Gearon, M. de Assunção Vale Pereira, Maria João de Araújo, Maria José Azevedo Santos, Owen Rees, Patrícia Jerónimo, Russell Sandberg, Silvério Rocha-Cunha, Teresa Pinto Coelho and Thomas Earle
Partners: Centre for the History of Society and Culture (University of Coimbra); Research Centre in Political Science (University of Évora/University of Minho); Institute for Political Studies (Católica University – Lisbon), University of Oxford.
The International Humanitarian Law in contemporary armed conflicts (CAC.IHL)
Description: The current conflict poses challenges to international humanitarian law, for which deep reflection is needed. Jus in bello is facing with several issues, which were not taken into care of in the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, nor in the two additional protocols of 1977. Examples include the use of technology during armed conflict, the use of drones, artificial intelligence, new weapons and weapons of mass destruction, but also in the issue of protecting civilians during armed conflict – for example, journalists in armed conflict, women, children, the elderly or other vulnerable groups – and the proliferation of the use of mercenary and private military and/or security companies. In addition to these challenges, the complexity of current conflict, often waged in an urban environment and which destroys cities, the livelihoods of the population and their civil and cultural objects. This research project aims to reflect on the new dynamics of contemporary conflict. This reflection is necessary to not only assess the state of the art in relation to international humanitarian law, but also to fill the study gap in this area in Portuguese and disseminate this branch of international law.
Activities:
- Analysis and reflection on International Humanitarian Law.
- Dissemination of international humanitarian law to the academic community and society in general.
- The organisation of research seminars on issues of international law and armed conflict.
- Promotion of partnerships with international organisations, government agencies, armed forces, and non-governmental organisations for the preparation of studies and clarifications on International Humanitarian Law.
- Creation of a working papers series.
- Organisation of a postgraduate training specialising in International Humanitarian Law.
- Evaluation of the conditions for the installation, at the School of Law of the University of Minho, of a legal clinic specialized in the area of International Humanitarian Law.
Duration: September 2021- September 2023
PI: Maria de Assunção do Vale Pereira
Co-PI: Rui Garrido
Team: Wladimir Brito, Pedro Freitas, Maria do Céu Pinto and Rute Batista
Aliens before the European Court of Human Rights: Ensuring Minimum Standards Protection
This project aims to examine the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in immigration, asylum and refugee cases in its application and interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the last thirty years, through a set of landmark cases combined with a myriad of less known cases, the ECHR has established a corpusof cases that regulate the fundamental rights of aliens in Europe and that lay down negative and positive obligations of the States, and the limits and conditions for State action (legislative, executive and judicial) in this field. That jurisprudence is also relevant nowadays because it lies the foundations of EU Law in this area, it has been a source of interpretation for the EU institutions before the adoption of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, inspired its adoption and clearly influences its interpretation. The project is coordinated by David Moya and Georgios Milios from the University of Barcelona and will be developed with the support of a regional government grant and the Migration Studies and Research Centre at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. There are researchers from several institutions involved, namely from the University of Friburg, Suleyman Demirel University, University of Cadiz, University of Reading, University of London, University of Milan, University of Rome La Sapienza and the International Organization for Migration.
JusGov researchers Benedita Mac Crorie and Sofia Pinto Oliveira are team members.
Collective Bargaining and the Gig Economy – New Perspectives – COGENS
This Project follows the path of previous research by the INLACRIS team. Since its first works in 2010, the approach has changed to a great extent. The traditional structures of collective bargaining have been decisively affected by the crisis, as well as important features of the labour market. The current scenario can be described as a never-before perceived evasion of labour law, where traditional structures are eroding.
The challenges labour law is facing right now due to the gig-economy, digitalization and the erosion of the employment contract promise to be severe and long-lasting. The main proposal of this project is a deeper look into collective bargaining as possible instrument to tackle the problems arising from the changes in the standard employment relationship. In 2014, President Juncker declared in his Political Guidelines: “The social market economy can only work if there is social dialogue. Social dialogue suffered during the crisis years. Now it must be resumed at national and especially at European level”. Accordingly, the European Pillar of Social Rights, in its Paragraph 8 refers to social dialogue as one of the main elements of Social Europe, emphasizing the importance of collective agreements. This reference to social dialogue seems to be fruitful and promising at the same time because in most of the European countries, non-standard employment relationships are not covered by labour legislation. Collective agreements, though, could quite easily provide a means for including persons working in the gig economy- context and thus granting minimum protection, as reflected by the ILO-report on non-standard employment. Contrary to recent developments and the decline in collective bargaining, the challenges of the gig-economy-labour market could therefore lead to a renaissance of collective bargainingas a central regulatory instrument in labour law. The organizations participating in this project are a total of 21, representing 17 countries. All the partners have a well-proved expertise in Labour Law, and many of them have already an independent research on the gig economy, digitalisation and artificial intelligence in relation with the labour market.
JusGov researcher Teresa Coelho Moreira is country expert for Portugal.
Cooperation for Development and the Right to Education in the Higher Education Systems of the African Lusophone Countries (PALOP): Angola, Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe as case studies
The project aims to conduct an assessment of the legal framework and public policies adopted in Angola, Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe in the field of higher education, as well as to examine the role of development cooperation in this context. It starts from the premise that education is a fundamental human right, crucial for the exercise of both civil and political rights, and economic, social and cultural rights. It takes as reference the UN 2030 Agenda “Transforming our World”, and the African Union 2063 Agenda, “The Africa that We Want”, which stress the importance of education in development processes and call for the need to prioritise the investment in education since childhood, in higher education, science, technology and research. The project aims to provide a better understanding of the legal framework in place in the selected countries, as well as of the way in which cooperation aids fostering the right to education in the field of higher education in the African countries which have Portuguese as one of its official languages. The project, which runs until 31 March 2021, is directed by Francisco Pereira Coutinho, from the Law Faculty of the Nova University of Lisbon, and funded by the Camões Institute.
JusGov is a partner in the project through the involvement of researcher Patrícia Jerónimo.
Project website: http://cedis.fd.unl.pt/?p=8529
European Law and Technology Network
The European Law and Technology Network is an initiative of two scholars affiliated with Dutch universities: Sofia Ranchordas has published extensively on the regulation of digital platforms and comparative public law. She is currently based at Leiden Law School and as of October 1st, 2017, she will be Chair of European & Comparative Public Law and Rosalind Franklin Fellow at Groningen Law School. Sofia is also affiliated with the Information Society Project at Yale Law School. Catalina Goanta is an Assistant Professor of Private Law who writes on consumer law, innovation policy, and is behind a number of local and international law and technology initiatives. While many decades ago, the field of law and technology was focused on the study of intellectual property, more recently, legal scholars have extended their interest in technology to other fields such as the regulation and governance of the Internet, privacy and cybersecurity, data collection, digital platforms, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. The European Law and Technology Network brings together scholars from different nationalities and fields of research that are trying to understand how technology works and how law should respond to its challenges.
JusGov researcher Maria Miguel Carvalho is a member of the Network.
Network website: https://europeanlaw.tech/
GLOBALCIT
GLOBALCIT is a programme committed to fact-based and non-partisan analysis of citizenship laws and policies around the globe. As of 1 January 2017 GLOBALCIT is part of the Global Governance Programmeand the successor of EUDO Citizenship,which started in 2009 with an initial focus on citizenship laws in the EU Member States and gradually expanded its thematic and geographic scope. The new name reflects the Observatory’s worldwide coverage. GLOBALCIT addresses the need to understand the varieties of citizenship laws and policies in a globalised world, where national perspectives no longer suffice to explain the transformations of membership. It provides reliable and comparative data on the content, causes and consequences of the laws that govern the acquisition and loss of citizenship and the franchise. It enables scholars, policy-makers, and the general public to critically analyse how citizenship connects people across international borders. GLOBALCIT publishes databases, analyses, indicators and debates on citizenship status and electoral rights. It relies on a large international network of country experts who write country reports, collect legal documents and provide input for our comparative databases. Its user-friendly interactive tools enable the comparison of data across countries and over time.
JusGov researcher Patrícia Jerónimo is country expert for Angola, Brazil, Mozambique, Portugal and Timor-Leste.
Project website: http://globalcit.eu/
International Consumer Protection Committee of the International Law Association
The International Law Association has the scope of studying, clarifying and developing international law, both public and private, and the furtherance of international understanding and respect for international law. The ILA has consultative status, as an international non-governmental organization, with a number of the United Nations specialized agencies. The ILA’s International Committees are established to undertake research and to prepare reports on carefully selected areas of international law (public, private or commercial). These reports are discussed and considered by the membership and other interested parties at the Biennial Conferences. The reports take various forms: a re-statement of the law; a draft treaty or convention; an elaboration of a code or rules or principles of international law; or a review of recent developments of law or practice. The International Consumer Protection Committee is one of the committees of the International Law Association. The current Committee’s mandate includes a study of the role of public and private international law to protect consumers, the review of the Guidelines, Model laws and Treaties, as well as national legislations concerning protection and consumer redress, especially in the context of conflict of laws and jurisdiction. Since its creation, the Committee has addressed three issues: (1) the impact of the financial crisis on consumers and its international dimension; (2) the issue of consumer redress in cross-border transactions and the role of international law to protect consumers; (3) International Organizations dealing with consumer protection.
JusGov researcher Anabela Gonçalves is member and national rapporteurof the committee.
Network of International Civil Procedure (Rede de Direito Processual Civil Internacional)
Network of International Civil Procedure is a research network that involves professors of Private International Law and other academics that study private international law situations in the perspective of the conflict of jurisdictions. The Network of International Civil Procedure gathers academics from several Brazilian, Spanish and Portuguese universities trying to get them together in research projects, conferences, and studies about topics in international civil procedure, namely, the general theory of international civil procedure, international jurisdiction, judicial international cooperation, international arbitration, provisional measures, international employment jurisdiction. The of International Civil Procedure is coordinated by the University of Brasília, the University Federal of Uberlândia, PUC-Campinas University and the University of Valencia.
JusGov researcher Anabela Gonçalves is one of the Portuguese members of the network.
ProChild Against Poverty and Social Exclusion Collaborative Lab (ProChild CoLab)
The ProChild Against Poverty and Social Exclusion Collaborative Lab prioritizes policies of child protection, as children are true subjects of rights, but more vulnerable beings. The work to be done by CoLab is part of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and is aligned with the UN Agenda 2030 to eradicate poverty and promote prosperity and well-being. The Collaborative Lab will function as an Interdisciplinary Competence Centre and intends to contribute to the promotion of healthy development and social inclusion of children (0-10 years old) in situations of poverty and high psychosocial risk. The ProChild Association integrates (1) a Social Intervention Area grounded in four fundamental units: Health and Wellbeing; Development and Education; Social Participation, Citizenship, and Gender; Protection against Violence, Exploitation, Abuse, and Negligence; and (2) a Social Technology CoLAB Area, including Living labs anchored on a Digital Unit and on a Nanotechnology Unit. School of Law and JusGov will contribute in the Protection against Violence, Exploitation, Abuse, and Negligence unit, which aims to develop and implement an integrated and scientifically based assessment and intervention model to improve the quality of the Child Protection System (CPS). Specific strategies to increase the success of family reunification and adoption will be implemented, as well as the development, implementation and evaluation of training programs for psychologists and social workers and other professionals from other relevant areas (e.g., law, education, health); and the definition of guidelines and systematic advocacy actions for legal and social policies concerning child protection and welfare issues (e.g., open adoption, audience, participation, and effective representation of children in court).
JusGov researchers Anabela Gonçalves, Cristina Dias, Margarida Santos and Patrícia Jerónimo are team members.
Project website: https://prochildcolab.pt/en/home/
Social and economic constitutionalism: new challenges for the Rule of Law in Europe
This project aims to evaluate how the changes in the EU in recent years have modified the role that European and national actors have regarding key decisions for European citizenship and that were affected by the changes that followed the euro crisis. The questions that the project wants to address are the following: Who decides public policies and how? EU institutions or national institutions? What courts are protecting and how social rights? Is there a legal vacuum or is it necessary to rethink the system?This project is financed by the Spanish Government and is coordinated by Maribel Gonzalez Pascual and Aida Torres Pérez, from the Pompeu Fabra University, in Barcelona. There are researchers from several institutions involved, namely from the Salamanca University, Basque Country University, IE Business School, Trento University, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Pisa), Federico II Naples University, Calabria University, Maastricht University, Copenhagen University and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
JusGov researchers Benedita Mac Crorie, Sofia Pinto Oliveira and Sophie Perez are team members.
UNALEX – The Portal to International Law (international, multi-lingual information system on European and international private law and international procedural law)
Unalex is an international information system on European and International Uniform Law with special emphasis on international private and civil procedural law. The information and factual material of unalex is continuously updated and developed further. Unalex is multilingual. Therefore the information provided is identical in the variety of the relevant legal systems for all users. Users can navigate through unalex in five different languages so far. The information offered via the system unalex is prepared and translated into all these languages. The particular unalex language concept aims to facilitate the cross-border acquisition and exchange of information on International Uniform Law. The unalex product range comprises i.a.: the unalex collection of court cases of more than 8000 deliberately chosen decisions with guiding principles; the unalex Compendium, a systematic collection, assigned by articles, with explanations and summaries of principles on selected legal instruments. A direct link with the unalex case collection ensures that the most up to-date Compendium is accessible; legislative texts and materials on Uniform Law. The project was developed by the IPR Verlag Munich (Germany), University of Innsbruck (Austria), Università degli Studi di Genova – DDG (Italy); a Právnická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy v Praze (Check Republic); SIA “Rígas Juridiská augstskola”, Latvia (Leetonia); Universitat de València (Spain); University of Zagreb – Faculty of Law (Croatia) and was co-financed by the European Union.
JusGov researcher Anabela Gonçalves is national correspondent for Portugal.
Project website: https://www.unalex.eu/
Varieties of Democracy (V-DEM)
Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) provides a multidimensional and disaggregated dataset that reflects the complexity of the concept of democracy as a system of rule that goes beyond the simple presence of elections. The V-Dem project distinguishes between five high-level principles of democracy: electoral, liberal, participatory, deliberative, and egalitarian, and collects data to measure these principles. With six Principal Investigators (PIs), seventeen Project Managers (PMs) with special responsibility for issue areas, more than thirty Regional Managers (RMs), 170 Country Coordinators (CCs), Research Assistants, and 3,000 Country Experts (CEs), the V-Dem project is one of the largest social science data collection projects focusing on research. The Headquarters is based at the V-Dem Institute, the Department of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
JusGov researcher Patrícia Jerónimo is Country Coordinator on Timor-Leste
Project website: https://www.v-dem.net/en/
PROJECTS
C.L.A.S.S.4EU
Description: The “4 EU Training Sessions on Family Law Regulations for Cross-border Lawyers and Social Services” (C.L.A.S.S.4EU) is a project funded by the European Commission. The project aims to deal with the difficulties arising from the regulation of cross-border family lives. Family matters cover not only transnational cases involving parental responsibility, but also the circulation of personal status. Given the different types of relationships (same-sex marriages, civil partnerships or de facto unions) recognized by the national legal systems of the countries involved, their recognition in another State may entail difficulties and persons’ rights and duties may vary. It will lead to uncertainty also when children are involved, thus requiring better understanding and improved knowledge. The aim of this project is to provide greater knowledge for lawyers and social service staff on EU Regulations (like Brussels II bis Regulation, Maintenance Regulation) and International Conventions (such as the 1996 Hague Child Protection and 1980 International Child Abduction Conventions, and the 2007 Hague Maintenance Protocol) on family law, developing a common expertise between these interrelated categories, especially when the protection of children is at stake.
Duration: 2018-2019
PI (at JusGov): Anabela Gonçalves
Team: Cristina Dias, Diana Coutinho,
Partners: Universita Degli Studi di Verona (UNIVR – Italy); Lietuvos Teises Institutas(Law Institute of Lithuania, TEISE – Lithuania); Eotvos Lorand Tudomanyegyetem (ELTE – Hungary); Universita’ Degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca (UNIMIB – Italy); Universidade do Minho (Uminho – Portugal); Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE – Hungary)
Funding: European Commission
Interconstitutionality: Constitutional Provisions for Networking and European Integration in a Global Society (Scientific and Technological Cooperation FCT/CAPES 2013-2015)
Description: CEDU obtained funding from the FCT/CAPES to support exchanges of young researchers between Brazil and Portugal. The project “Interconstitutionality: Constitutional Provisions for Networking and European Integration in a Global Society”, submitted by the University of Minho in partnership with the Federal University of Paraíba, the University of Brasilia and the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC), will allow free movement of young CEDU researchers who are doing their PhDs in this field, between 2013 and 2015. The University of Minho Law School will also welcome doctoral and post-doctoral students from the Brazilian partner universities for up to one year. The University of Minho was the only Portuguese institution to have a draft law approved under this cooperation programme between Brazil and Portugal, evidence of the research excellence that the University of Minho Law School has attained in the field of European Union law.
Duration: 2013-2015
INTEROP – EU Digital Single Market as a Political Calling: Interoperability as the Way Forward
Description: The project is based on the study of the Digital Single Market as a primary public interest for the European Union and intends to test the state-of-the-art implementing administrative interoperability solutions at a later stage in order to test new forms of interoperability. It will take into account, in particular, its material (fundamental and judicial component) with reference to the simplified procedures for recovery of claims to be carried out within the European Union’s Area of Freedom, Security and Justice.
Duration: 2018-2019
Team: Joana Covelo de Abreu, Pedro Froufe, Sophie Perez; Francisco Andrade
Funding: Jean Monnet Project, European Commission –Educational, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency
Jean Monnet Chair: Citizenship of rights: European citizenship as the fundamental status of nationals of Member States
Description: Alessandra Silveira held a Jean Monnet Chair with the project “Citizenship of rights: European citizenship as the fundamental status of nationals of Member States”.
The European Court of Justice, under pressure from national Member States’ courts, is developing within its jurisprudence a broader notion of citizenship rights to strengthen European citizenship as “the fundamental status of Member States’ nationals”. Recent case-law has asked the European legal order for an updated concept of European citizenship: “does it only support the free movement of economically active individuals, or does it mean a uniform set of rights and obligations, characterised by belonging to European citizenship, in which fundamental rights play an important role?”.
The Jean Monnet programme aims to strengthen the role of teaching and research on European integration at universities in Member States and in third countries. It is co-financed by the European Commission, through the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency. The programme’s title pays tribute to the French politician Jean Monnet (1888-1979), who is considered to be the mentor of European unity (EEC) and the Shuman Declaration model.
Funding: Jean Monnet Project, European Commission
Medically Assisted Procreation: Review of Recent Legal Developments in Portugal
Description: Law no. 17/2016 and Law no. 25/2016 have introduced relevant changes in the legal regime of medically assisted procreation in Portugal, established by Law no. 32/2006. Surrogate motherhood was introduced by Law no. 25/2016 (although in quite restrictive terms) and Law no. 17/2016 allows any woman to use medically assisted procreation methods, regardless of infertility causes, changing the existing paradigm. The Portuguese Constitutional Court was called to evaluate the constitutionality of some of the provisions of the Acts, particularly those concerning surrogacy, and some aspects of the regime were actually declared unconstitutional. The aim of this project is, therefore, to evaluate the consequences of these changes in many legal fields, (Constitutional Law, Law of Succession, Private International Law, Family Law) and also if they can be considered to promote gender equality.
Duration: 2018-2019
Team: Anabela Gonçalves, Cristina Dias, Diana Coutinho, Isa António, Mariana Boçon, Miriam Rocha, Sónia Moreira, Rossana Costa
Mobility Partnership Facility Action “Support for the Moldovan Call Centre for Migrants”
Description: The Action was funded by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and the European Commission. It was designed to support the Moldovan Bureau of Migration and Asylum (BMA) by addressing the operational needs of its Call Centre for Migrants. The Action involved e.g. an assessment of the material and human resources available, the training of BMA staff members, the provision of bespoke software for the Call Centre and the drafting of the Call Centre Regulation.
Duration: 4 April 2018 – 3 January 2019
Team: Fanny Tittel-Mosser, Pedro Rosário, Rui Abrunhosa, Joana Fernandes, Ana Fernandes.
Partners: Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service (SEF)
Social Europe – Unconditional Basic Income (UBI)
Description: Portugal, as many other Member-States of the EU, in collaboration with the European Commission and partners of civil society will organize several «Encounters with Citizens» in order to debate Europe and its future. These events will take place throughout 2018 and 2019, and the outcome of these consultations will be presented to the European Council. A team of JusGov researchers will take part in the debates which,after consultations with Portuguese Government, will focus on the topic Social Europe: The hypothesis of a Unconditional Basic Income. The first conference on Social Europe and UBI will be held in Vila Real on October 27 2018. JusGov researchers will contribute with papers on the ethic foundations of UBI, on the possibility of creating European taxes to fund UBI, and on UBI and the Constitution. The conclusions of the first debate will be presented by a rapporteur to the Secretary of State of European Affairs and to the general public attending the conference who are expected to share their opinions and contribute further to the debates. The outcome of this final debate will materialize in a policy paper to be delivered to the Portuguese Government by the middle of November 2018 so that it prepares the Portuguese conclusions on the debate about Europe to be presented to the European Council. There will be a final two day conference on January 24-25 2019, which will have Philippe Van Parijs as keynote speaker and will count on the presence of representatives from the European Commission, the Portuguese Government and of experts from around Europe to debate Social Europe and UBI. An edited volume will bring together the research papers produced in the context of the project.
Duration: 2018-2019
Team: Sofia Pinto Oliveira, Benedita Mac Crorie, Clara Calheiros
Partners: Centre for Ethics, Politics and Society, Catholic University, UTAD (University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro), the Portuguese Government Secretary of European Affairs and the Portuguese Representation of the European Commission.
Funding: Portuguese Government
Transnational Migration, Citizenship and the Circulation of Rights and Responsibilities (TRANSMIC)
Description: Initial Training Network implemented by a consortium led by Maastricht University. The overall aim of the project is to contribute to the understanding of transnational migration, in particular by looking at the conditions for and effects of transnational migration, possibilities for the mobility of migrants’ rights to be enhanced, and the links between migration, citizenship, and migration and development. The University of Minho hosted a PhD candidate who developed a research project on the possible legal and policy relevance of Mobility Partnerships with third countries, with the Mobility Partnerships with Cape Verde and Morocco as case studies.
Duration: 1 September 2014 to 31 August 2018
PI (at JusGov): Patrícia Jerónimo
Team (at JusGov): Clara Calheiros, Fanny Tittel-Mosser, Maarten Vink, Pedro Froufe, Sofia Pinto Oliveira
Partners: Maastricht University, University of Liège, Oxford University, University of Aix-Marseille, University of Tampere, University of Warsaw, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), University of Minho
Funding: Project funded by the European Commission under the Marie Curie Actions framework
COLLABORATIONS
Academic Network to perform research services on issues pertaining to Citizenship of the Union rights and related policies (EU-CITZEN)
EU-CITZEN establishes a new Academic Network on European Citizenship Rights aimed at providing the European Commission with the best independent scholarly knowledge and advice on Citizenship of the Union rights and related policies, and their implementation in EU Member States and other third countries of relevance. EU-CITZEN will secure inter-disciplinary expertise and a forum for discussion on all issues and questions to be covered in the European Commission’s 2019 Citizenship of the Union Report and the 2019 European elections. EU-CITZEN brings together a network of academic and research institutions and a Brussels-based think tank, along with a pool of national experts, which are uniquely positioned to deliver the multifaceted set of Tasks envisaged in the Tender Specifications. The Network is coordinated by CEPS (Justice & Home Affairs Programme) and by Maastricht University (Faculty of Law).
JusGov researcher Patrícia Jerónimo is country expert for Portugal.
Council of Europe Study on Human Rights Aspects of Integration Policies
The study seeks to examine the human rights aspects of integration policies and measures of immigrants in a selection of Council of Europe (CoE) member states. It aims to assess integration policies and measures presenting a compulsory and restrictive nature in light of equal access to human rights and legal standards developed by the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the European Union and CoE monitoring bodies and mechanisms.The Study will map and analyse examples of civic integration policies presenting a mandatory nature in selected CoE Member States: Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, the Russian Federation and the UK. As part of the study, an e-survey will be distributed among experts in all these countries to gather information on practical use and implementation of these policies. The project is funded by the Special Representative of Migration and Refugees of the Council of Europe (CoE) and implemented by the Migration Policy Centre at the EUI in Florence.
JusGov researcher Patrícia Jerónimo is country expert for Portugal.