NRP Mondego. STA decision in the opposite direction of previous

The Supreme Administrative Court (STA) declared the unlawfulness of the navy applied to the NRP Mondego military following the failed mission of 2023. However, the decision contradicts proceedings in other courts, already final.

The unfavorable outcome to the Navy decided by the Stair on the “partiality” of the instructor and the naval commander himself, when this matter had already been appreciated and decided, in the sense of his impartiality.

It is recalled that in June 2023, the thirteen military entered the Funchal Administrative and Fiscal Court an subpoena process to protect rights, freedoms and guarantees. They asked the Navy to be summoned to replace the instructor of the disciplinary proceedings, understanding that the appointed officer was attended in the chain of events on March 11, 2023.

The following month, the same military personnel entered the Lisbon Administrative Court of Circle another subpoena process to protect rights, freedoms and guarantees, with identical foundations and identical request.

The request was rejected by the Court, which ruled that “(…) there are no evidence, objectives, that the official instructor has some prejudice against (authors) or personal interest in the outcome of the process or has been behavior that objectively arouses serious and serious doubts regarding its exemption in the procedure of disciplinary procedure in order to perform the exercise of the right of hearing and defense of (…).

In November, the same court upheld the exception of a res judicata and, consequently, acquitted the navy of the court in view of the decision that had made in July. From the latter decision the military appealed to the Southern Central Administrative Court, which, by judgment of September, dismissed the appeal and confirmed the contested decision.

The military was punished with penalties between 10 and 45 days of suspension of service by the Naval Commander and Admiral Chief of Staff of the Armada decided to reject the hierarchical appeal presented by the military, maintaining the disciplinary penalty, without any change in the penalty and decision process. The situation was notified to the military and their representatives on July 11, 2024.

The military then filed a precautionary proceeding, to suspend this decision of rejection and an administrative action with the process for annulment of this order. The decision of the South TCA – unfavorable to the Navy, which appealed – fell on these two proceedings filed and decided not only to judge the precautionary proceedings, but also anticipate the judgment of the main cause.

The STA Judgment, dated 30 April, dismisses the Navy’s appeal, which challenged the previous decision of the South TCA, states that the process of disciplinary sanctions contain several defects and failures that result in the “nullity of the disciplinary sanctioning decision by defects of the procedure”.

The judgment of the Supreme Court addresses disciplinary matter, although it is read that “it is not discussed that the process has all the elements for the background decision of the case and there is no doubt about the issues raised and the interests in presence, which go far beyond the personal and professional interests of the military concerned and that contend with the essential values ​​of the military condition, in particular, the hierarchy-structure of command and obedience and obedience. – and discipline – compliance with normatives and orders, the decision to anticipate the judgment on the main cause is justified.

« The nullity of the disciplinary sanctioning decision by the procedure, it hinders the assessment and qualification of the behavior of the Navy military described in the file and the (in) validity of the normative subsumption that will be inherent to it, as well as impairs the substantial legality of the sanctions applied, » reads the judgment.

The defense of the military intends to see guaranteed the “liability of the hierarchy”, which in the present case, the top of Admiral Henrique Gouveia and Melo, who at the time of the facts moved to the island of Madeira, where the patrol ship was on mission, to publicly scold the military who refused to fulfill the attributed mission.

On the subject, the time Admiral Chief of Staff of the Armada preferred not to comment on the case, but made it clear that it does not agree with the decision.

« At this time, the Navy has a new boss who will exercise the responsibilities they consider appropriate. I respect what the courts say. However, I have disagreements about what happened. Time will clarify, » said Gouveia and Melo.