## Facts

- In Portugal, decrees approved by the Assembly of the Republic are sent to the President of the Republic for promulgation.
- Once promulgated, laws are executed by the Government, led by the Prime Minister.
- In 2011, the Assembly passed a decree addressing the public-school teacher performance appraisal regime.
- The decree suspended the existing model for appraising teacher performance.
- The decree also ordered the Prime Minister’s Government to begin negotiations with trade unions aimed at approving a new teacher appraisal regime.
- Before promulgating the decree, the President of the Republic requested prior (ex ante) constitutional review by the Portuguese Constitutional Court.
- The President’s request was based on concerns that the decree’s legislative directions regarding teacher evaluations could violate constitutional requirements tied to:
  - the separation and interdependence of governmental powers,
  - the Government’s constitutionally assigned sphere of intervention, and
  - the rule of law.

## Issues

1. Whether the Assembly’s decree suspending the existing teacher appraisal model and directing the Government to negotiate a replacement exceeded the legislature’s constitutional role and interfered with the Government’s constitutionally assigned functions.
2. Whether ordering the Government to undertake a specific negotiating process with trade unions, as a matter of legislative command, conflicted with the constitutional principles of separation and interdependence of powers and the rule of law.

## Decision

- The Portuguese Constitutional Court decided the President’s request for prior constitutional review in Ruling No. 214/11 on 29 April 2011.
- Publicly available summaries identify the challenged decree and the constitutional objections raised (separation and interdependence of powers, Government sphere of intervention, and rule-of-law concerns).
- The specific operative outcome (e.g., whether the decree was found constitutional or unconstitutional, in whole or in part) and the court’s detailed reasoning are not available from the accessible materials used for this brief.

## Legal Principles

- The President of the Republic may request prior constitutional review of an Assembly decree before promulgation.
- Under the Portuguese constitutional order, legislative action must respect the separation and interdependence of powers and may not displace the Government’s constitutionally assigned responsibilities by dictating concrete executive action beyond what the Constitution permits.
- Rule-of-law requirements include legality and proper institutional competence in the exercise and allocation of public powers, including when legislation structures administrative action.

## Conclusion

Teacher’s Evaluation Case (Ruling No. 214/11) arose from a presidential request for prior constitutional review of an Assembly decree that suspended an existing teacher performance appraisal model and instructed the Government to negotiate a new regime with trade unions, raising questions about legislative interference with executive functions under the separation and interdependence of powers, the Government’s sphere of intervention, and rule-of-law limits; accessible sources confirm the context and objections but do not supply the decision’s full holding or reasoning.


Teacher's Evaluation Case, RULING No. 214/11, 29 April 2011 (2011)