Portugal may have a new crime to combat the practice of "cunha" in relations with the public administration. A proposal authored by João Ribeiro, a member of the board of the Portuguese section of Transparency International, advocates the creation of the crime of "undue intermediation of access to public decision", with sentences that can reach three years in prison or fines.
The document was sent at the end of July to parties with parliamentary seats, with the exception of Chega. The proposal aims to punish anyone who uses personal, family, party, professional or economic relationships to obtain preferential treatment in concrete processes, such as accelerating procedures, avoiding inspections or accessing non-public information.
The initiative also includes transparency mechanisms, requiring public entities to register external contacts related to specific processes. Generic contacts and interventions by lawyers in the exercise of their duties would be excluded. The law would have a limited duration of 15 years, with regular evaluations every four years.
The proposal also extends to the private sector, suggesting that listed companies disclose recruitment opportunities for senior positions. So far, only the PSD is said to have contacted João Ribeiro to formally discuss the initiative, which now awaits the parties' decision on whether to proceed to parliamentary debate.
