As soon as we have confirmed details for the next Chapter meeting, this page will be updated.


Previous events

Panel debate on „Artificial Intelligence and Justice: Friend or foe?“

Online, 29 November 2023

On 29 November, the online panel debate on „Artificial Intelligence and Justice: Friend or foe?“ was attended by 30 members who joined this online edition of the Portuguese Chapter from across the continent.
The Portuguese legal system was well represented, with a prosecutor, a judge and a lawyer on the panel giving their views and discussing their experiences:

Nuno Serdoura dos Santos, District Public Prosecutor, Member of the Cyber Crime Office at the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Gonçalo Cerejeira Namora, Lawyer at Cerejeira Namora, Marinho Falcão, Head of the Privacy, Digital and Technology Team. He also specialises in Intellectual Property, Corporate Law and Litigation.
Joaquim Oliveira Martins, Judge and Law Clerk at the Portuguese Constitutional Court, author of several articles about the Digital Revolution and the Judicial System.

This was the recap of key takeaways from the session. Topics, such as:

  • AI using in criminal investigations;
  • Metadata collection and its legal challenges in the EU;
  • Face profiling – racial prejudice and other risks;
  • Lawyers before a new world – new lines of action, and risks to Human Rights;
  • Challenges in Client/Attorney relationship;
  • AI in sentencing – USA and China experiences;
  • AI in EU and the UK sentencing;
  • The burden of proof with AI generated evidence;
  • How does AI comply with the Rule of Law;
  • AI and data collection – rules and limits;

Later participants shared their thoughts and engaged in a discussion. A big thank you to the Portuguese experts and more importantly, to our Portuguese Chapter Coordinator – Carlos de Almeida Lemos, who made this event possible.

This was the last gathering of the Friends for this year… Please stay tuned, as we will be back in 2024 to offer you a space where the European legal community can connect as Friends of ERA and support the Association’s work.
Panel debate on Artificial Intelligence and Justice: Friend or foe?

 

Visit of Casa da Música in Porto

22 September 2023

On Friday 22 September, the Portuguese Chapter of the Friends of ERA held its first event after a long break with a guided tour of the Casa da Música in Porto.
It was an enlightening visit with many interesting glimpses behind the scenes of the Casa da Música.

The origins of the Casa da Música date back to 1998, when the city of Porto was chosen as European Capital of Culture for 2001. Designed by the architect Rem Koolhaas, the Casa da Música is one of Porto’s most emblematic buildings.

The event concluded with a dinner at the Marisqueira Antiga in Matosinhos, where the Friends could enjoy lively conversations in a pleasant atmosphere.

This wonderful gathering was made possible thanks to Carlos de Almeida Lemos, coordinator of the Portuguese Chapter of the Friends of ERA, and we were delighted to welcome 15 members who joined us in Porto.

 

Dinner with guest speaker José Luís da Cruz Vilaça

14 November 2019

On 14 November 2019, the Portuguese Chapter of the Friends of ERA organised a dinner at restaurant Zambeze in Lisbon where guests enjoyed a pleasant evening in the famous Alfama. Highlight of the Chapter meeting was a guest speech from José Luís da Cruz Vilaça, Advogado, former judge of the European Court of Justice and from 1989 to 1995 first president of the then Court of First Instance of the EU. In his speech, Mr Cruz Vilaça examined many areas in which Europe is Dinner with guest speaker José Luís da Cruz Vilaçacurrently at a crossroads – Brexit, the refugee crisis, the rise of populisms in Europe, climate change, the digital era – and how these challenges could be met in the future.

The meeting provided an excellent opportunity to network among legal practitioners from Lisbon and elsewhere in Portugal and to meet participants of ERA’s annual conference on European criminal justice who gathered at the same place. The event was organised by the convenor of the Portuguese Chapter Dr Carlos de Almeida Lemos and also attended by the Director of ERA, Dr Wolfgang Heusel.

 

Lunch-Debate with Maria José Rangel de Mesquita

23 May 2018

It has been a great honour to have Maria José Rangel de Mesquita, Judge of the Portuguese Constitutional Court and Member of the ERA Board of Trustees, as guest speaker at the first meeting of the Portuguese chapter of the Friends of ERA on the 23 May 2018 the EPIC SANA Lisboa Hotel in Lisbon. Judge Rangel de Mesquita, who spokeLunch-Debate with Maria José Rangel de Mesquitaon the EU values and the Commission’s new MFF (Multiannual Financial Framework) proposal and regulation establishing measures for the protection of the Eu budget in the case of generalized deficiencies as regard the rule of law, provided an excellent basis for a good and intense debate in which more or less all attendees participated.

Her presence and contributions to the debate were insightful and altogether, it culminated in a thought-provoking exchange around the table. The three course meal at the heart of Lisbon was a wonderful setting for the event, and many thanks go to Carlos de Almeida Lemos (Coordinator of the Friends of ERA Portuguese Chapter) for his commitment and motivation for establishing a new Chapter of the Friends of ERA in Portugal.