"Minimum wage and pension increases can still go ahead" (with José Luís Moreira da Silva)

«Constitutionalist José Luís Moreira da Silva, Partner at SRS Legal, believes that the new national minimum wage of 820 euros, and the increase in pensions in 2024, by an average of 6.2 per cent, will be able to despite the political context created by the judicial operation into the lithium business and, consequently, the resignation of the Prime Minister.
"The question that can be asked is whether these measures be seen as electioneering," the lawyer emphasises. "O Article 186/5 of the Constitution has the key words about restricting the government powers in two situations: (i) before the approval of the programmes in the Assembly of the Republic and after the resignation of the government. But it is very vague on the powers of governments in day-to-day management, saying that the government will be limited to carrying out acts strictly necessary to ensure the management of public affairs", he explains.
According to José Luís Moreira da Silva, what necessary acts has been the subject of various interpretations and judgements of the Constitutional Court (TC) but, according to political practice and the TC's and the TC's interpretations, "the caretaker government is not prevented from passing laws, but is restricted to situations of necessity, i.e, situations that would be jeopardised if they were left only after elections for the new government". In the end, it's up to the President to check whether measures are admissible and send the legislation to the Court of Justice.»