I could not agree more with Nik. I think this forum and a couple of others that are starting are helpful in sharing information that brings us hope, but also educates us and hopefully begins to arm us for a pre-emptive education campaign (my personal goal) that is based in the law of Portugal. I am having to back track from my previous post on the logic of the argument before the Constitutional Court of the Republic to my original analysis of the Portugal GV.
I just went to the main SEF web-site and then went to the ARI section. WOW, what an uplifting read. Because it spells out the entire process for the ARI and what we all should get for our investment from beginning to citizenship and references the applicable acts and diplomas.
conteudo-detalhe (sef.pt)
I got a question about those that do not have an application number. I am not sure, but I believe in my initial 12+ months ago reading about the amendment that changed where you could buy property (population density and GDP being the two factors) I think the constitutional court stated that the effective date of the law had to be prospective( in the future) not immediate because of the disadvantaging of people already who purchase property, but not submitted. So for those who have applied there is hope. I just need to dig some more on the rulings and principles of the 4 governmental bodies of the Portuguese republic: The President of the Republic, the Government, The Assembly of the Republic and the Constitutional Court. The post Salazar constitutional was intended to create an equal and fair society for all involved with Portugal, not just citizens.
With this being said, all media reports and the people I have talked to in Portugal or connected with companies that have a vested interest in seeing the GV program continue, like Mercan, have said 1) no one in the Government of the Republic ( Prime Minister and Council of Ministers), 2) many if not a majority of the Assembly of the Republic and 3) the President of the Republic do not like the ARI program.
That being the case, it is well documented that the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, is a constitutional lawyer. He has come out publicly and called the Government of the Republicās āMore Housingā law a āPoster Lawā which just highlights and fixates people on the party platform while not solving anything. You all read the news stories. President Rebelo de Sousa from the PSD party, not the PS party of Prime Minister Costa and the majority of the Assembly of the Republic. He has said and so has his predecessor from the PSD party that their job is to attempt to ensure Portugalās place for foreign direct investment.
People are asking why the Prime Minister and current Government of the Republic made up of the Prime Minister and the entire Council of Ministers, et. al. are doing this if it is unconstitutional or plainly illegal.
This is a plan and simple POPULIST move because the Prime Minister and some of his Ministers was about to be ālynchedā by the public for the continued increased cost of housing. His Government is about to publish multiple proposals to amend Acts or create new Acts (answering a question someone else had) for the Assembly of the Republic to read (their first action is to read whatever is sent) of which one of the proposals will contain the ARI changes bundled with something popular the Government wants to pass. The Assembly can potentially vote with 20% of the Assembly to send one or more of the proposals to the Constitutional Court, hash out in the various committees of the Assembly, and then read again before a final vote after which it goes to the President for his review/rejection/punt to the Constitutional Court) as well as at least one decree that will go straight to the President for his his review/rejection/punt to the Constitutional Court). Whenever something is set to the Constituional Court there are time frames on when a ruling must be made between 25 days for things sent from the General Assembly and X days (cannot find it) for things sent from the President.
All of my Portuguese friends tell me this is the way Prime Minister Costa and the Socialists have worked under his leadership for years, but the PSD has not been strong enough or organized enough to unseat him because he plays the populist game and the general population all think he will wave his magic wand and what he wants will come true. Unfortunately for Portugal that was the Salazar authoritian regime so people keep voting Socialist not PSD or one of the other parties.
