Fresh Lawyer Row Threatens to Let Ex-PM Sócrates Walk Free

Lisbon’s Court of Criminal Appeal again finds itself on hold. The marathon Operação Marquês trial, centred on former prime-minister José Sócrates, has been pushed back to 4 December after the defendant insisted on appointing a lawyer of his own choosing. The pause may appear short, yet it revives larger questions about judicial delays, the looming prescription deadlines and the public’s patience with a case that has stretched far beyond the usual lifespan of Portuguese megaprocesses.

A legal carousel nobody is enjoying

Even seasoned court staff admit they are weary of the revolving door of defence teams. Earlier this month, Pedro Delille—Sócrates’s counsel since the first trial day in July—walked out, citing “ethical reasons”, a simmering dispute with presiding judge Susana Seca and what he called a “mock” proceeding. The bench reacted by naming José Manuel Ramos as court-appointed stand-in. Sócrates refused, calling the arrangement a “degrading spectacle” because he had not selected the blind lawyer and doubted his ability to work with extensive visual evidence. Judge Seca, while accusing the defendant of potential “dilatory tactics”, eventually accepted that fair trial principles required a brief stop so a new, privately chosen advocate could study the 4 000-page dossier.

Time, the silent enemy of corruption cases

Portuguese criminal law freezes the clock when charges are served, but only for 3 years. That buffer is fast evaporating. Prosecutors already lost forgery counts to prescription in June, and the Vale do Lobo bribery chapter, along with loans issued by Caixa Geral de Depósitos, could lapse during the first half of 2026. Each adjournment therefore feeds speculation that the most serious allegations—passive and active corruption—might simply outlive the statutory window. In court, Seca acknowledged the risk yet argued that pressing forward without proper counsel would jeopardise defence rights and invite appeals that could waste even more time.

Why this trial feels longer than most

Complex proceedings in Portugal last, on average, a little over 8 years; Operação Marquês has already exceeded 11. Analysts point to 28 defendants, reams of banking data and a charge sheet once listing 189 crimes. Defence lawyers have filed wave after wave of procedural objections; the prosecution, for its part, constructed an indictment sprawling across investment projects, luxury real estate and offshore transfers. Critics such as sociologist Boaventura de Sousa Santos say the sheer scale proves the system is ill-suited to mega-cases, while supporters counter that breaking it into smaller trials would have multiplied costs and contradictions. Either way, citizens have grown accustomed to seeing the former Socialist leader present at Lisbon’s justice campus one morning, only to read that the session was canceled by lunchtime.

What happens between now and December

Sócrates has 20 days to lodge the name of a new lawyer; legal circles speculate on senior litigators with experience in financial crime, but few relish a brief that entails thousands of pages of evidence and intense media glare. Should the defendant fail to secure representation, the court could reinstate a court-appointed counsel, though that path would almost certainly trigger further confrontation. During the interim the clock on prescription remains suspended—but only just. If hearings do resume on 4 December, the bench has scheduled marathon sittings through Christmas to claw back lost ground. Whether the calendar survives yet another twist may determine if the country’s most high-profile corruption trial ends in a verdict or in silence.