Neto Valente: Fight against corruption must respect rule of law

“The battle with corruption must not imply a disregard for the fundamental pillars of the rule of law.” The warning came yesterday from Jorge Neto Valente, president of the Macau Lawyers Association (AAM), during the presentation of the seminar “Corruption and the Rule of Law”, which will start on May 14.
During the two day seminar, around 400 participants from around the world will discuss how to define the different crimes related to corruption, how to prevent the phenomenon and “whether or not there should be special procedure rules”. However, Neto Valente refused to draw a link between the seminar’s theme and the ongoing controversy around Macau’s Commission Against Corruption (CCAC).
“This will be a juridical, not a political event,” the lawyer said. The fight against corruption “is an issue of great relevance, interesting for Macau and very interesting for Asia and China” added Neto Valente, “considering the Beijing Government has made corruption a priority”. Nonetheless, the AAM president recalled, “the current Macau laws do not allow” the battle with corruption to follow any other road beyond “the respect for the rule of law”.
And the process “has been effective”, said Neto Valente recalling the Transparency International 2009 Corruption Perception Index. The non-governmental organization ranked Macau 43 among 180 countries and regions, the same spot as its ranking the previous year. But the MSAR’s ranking has dropped 17 places since 2006, the first year it appeared in the report.
In 2008, Neto Valente criticised CCAC for “the violation of rights consigned by criminal procedure laws”, even if “it seeks justification in noble intentions”, but also for revealing in press releases information under justice secrecy.

Controversy awaits

The “Corruption and the Rule of Law” seminar is the first event co-organized in Macau by the International Association of Lawyers (UIA). And the Regional UIA Secretary’s scheduled intervention is likely to bring the discussion back to local issues.
João Miguel Barros has been one of the fiercest critics of CCAC and, as defendant of Leong Hai Heng, a suspect in one of the Ao Man Long-related cases, has already filed a criminal complaint for violation of judicial secrecy. The lawyer has also repeatedly accused the Commission of “obstructing court warrants and people’s right to defend themselves”.
Last year the UIA wrote an open letter expressing concern for the “violation of some basic principles of international and domestic law” in the Ao case, notably “the absence of any rights for the persons sentenced to have their conviction and sentence reviewed by a higher body and the violation of the presumption of innocence and judicial secrecy”.
The association also claimed to be “alarmed to see that the CCAC performs its activities without (…) the obligation of concluding the investigations in the period due to the law and the duty of reporting its activities to the Public Prosecution Office”. The letter was signed by Stéphane Bonifassi, co-director of Human Rights and Defence at UIA, who will be in Macau for the seminar.
“Corruption and the Rule of Law” is the highlight of the activities scheduled by the AAM to celebrate Lawyer’s Day. The May 14 and 15 event will discuss issues such as the impact of corruption on modern societies and the globalization of this phenomenon.
The speakers include the head of the CCAC, Vasco Fong Man Chong, the Final Appeal Court judge Viriato Lima, but also lawyers and magistrates from Hong Kong, China, Australia, USA and Portugal. An unexpected last-minute guest is Mohammed Akram Sheikh, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan famous for his involvement in human rights cases.
Lawyer’s Day celebrations will start on May 13, at 6 pm, at Senate Square. Until the evening on May 16, a stage will welcome musical and dance shows, as well as displays of acrobatic and martial arts. On May 15 and 16, between 10 am and 8 pm, the public will also be able to speak to a lawyer, free of charge, at the MGTO office.

VQ