El sistema de inteligencia de la República de Portugal
| Autor | Julio Pereira |
| Páginas | 16-28 |
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In writing this article about the Portuguese Republic Intelligence System (SIRP) for publishing in the journal Inteligencia y Seguridad: Revista de análisis y prospectiva we tried to describe a logical portrait of the System through its historical evolution. First, through the framework, we charac-terized briefly the SIRP, in order to facilitate the understanding of the article, and developed a brief explanation on the establishment of the Intelligence System within the context of a democratic republic on the brink of entering the European Community (emphasis in Law n.° 30/84, 5th Sep-tember). The next point intends to give an account on the evolution of SIRP, explaining the current model (emphasis in Law n.° 4/2004, 6th No-vember) as the result of an international context marked by events like 11th September and the implementation of Law n.° 9/2007, 19th February. In this context the following key elements arise: direct purview of the Portuguese Prime Minister (Intelligence on the core of the state apparatus); top fusion — establishment of the Secretary-General Office; bipolar system — with two intelligence services (internal and external); administrative com-mon bodies — innovation in what concerns public administration. The third section refers to the Intelligence Services — SIED and SIS, and gives a brief and comprehensive explanation about its missions, threats, scope of action, national and international cooperation. The relevance of SIRP over-sight justifies a separate section, where the powers of SIRP's Inspection bodies are described: the Oversight Council and the Data Oversight Com-mission, as well as the connection of SIRP, with emphasis on SIED, to the military intelligence through Oversight competences. The article ends up with some final notes summering the main traces of Portuguese intelligence system, mainly a solid evolution set upon a broad parliamentary consensus.
The Portuguese Republic Intelligence System is provided with two intelligence services — the Strategic and Defense Intelligence Service (SIED) and
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the Security Intelligence Service (SIS) — which have public nature and are responsible, accordant to the Portuguese Constitution and the law, for the gathering of intelligence aimed to safeguard national independence and to ensure internal security.
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There are other organs in SIRP, needed to fulfill System's purposes:
• The Oversight Council of the Portuguese Republic Intelligence System: supervisory board of the Assembly of the Republic (national par-liament) — responsible for the follow up and supervision of Secre-tary-General and intelligence services' activities;
• The Superior Council of Intelligence: inter-ministerial consultive or-gan — responsible for the coordination of intelligence matters, chaired by Portuguese Prime Minister;
• The Data Oversight Commission of the Portuguese Republic Intelligence System: organ in charge of intelligence service's data centre oversight — based on State's Attorney General Republic Office;
• The Secretary-General of the Portuguese Republic Intelligence System: responsible for the direction, inspection, supervision and coordination of Portuguese intelligence services and common bodies.
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The Secretary-General of SIRP and the intelligence services depend di-rectly from Portuguese Prime Minister. It is Prime Minister's specific obli-gation to keep especially informed the President of the Republic, directly or through Secretary-General on matters relating the conduction of SIRP's ac-tivity.
The legal framework governing Portuguese Republic Intelligence System includes Law n.° 4/2004, 6th November, which amended and republished SIRP's statutory Law n.° 30/84, 5th September, and Law n.° 9/2007, 19th February, concerning the organic structure of Secretary-General, SIED and SIS.
The present text is limited to the third Portuguese Republic, the period of Portugal's history that initiates with April's Revolution (25th, 1974) and the approval of 1976 Constitution (CRP), despite the rich national intelligence history.
On matters of intelligence, the period comprehended between the revolution of 1974 (that introduced the current democratic regime) and setting of SIRP in 1984, presented a kind of vacuum, in which the military1 con-trolled the gathering of intelligence including internal and external intelligence and counter-intelligence.
Several issues influenced the founding of the Portuguese Republic Intelligence System, namely the occurrence of the following security incidents: the action of the terrorist organization «Forças Populares 25 de Abril»2 (FP 25) and the action of external entities that selected the country for violent events resulting from international disputes3. These events have increased
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the need to create one or more civilian Intelligence Services, internal or ex-ternal according to the nature of the threats, forcing national politicians to move forward.
On the other hand, it was necessary to consolidate Portuguese path to democracy, essential for country's admission to European Economic Com-munity — EEC (Portuguese request was presented in March 1977), which occurred in 1st January, 1986, simultaneously for Portugal and Spain.
In this context, the Law n.° 30/84, ensured ab initio the distinction be-tween the intelligence activity and the police activity, foreseeing three intelligence branches: SIED, dependent on the Prime Minister, authorized to delegate in another member of the Government; its mission: «gathering the intelligence needed to guarantee Portuguese national independence and ex-ternal security»; SIS, under the responsibility of Ministry of the Interior; its mission: «gathering the intelligence needed to ensure internal security and to prevent sabotage, terrorism, espionage and acts able to alter or destroy the rule of law constitutionally established»; the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) formed «by the departments responsible for gathering military intelligence needed to fulfill Armed Forces missions, including ensuring military security»; dependent from the Ministry of National Defense.
The SIRP's Statutory Law also included other entities such as two exter-nal supervisory boards: the Oversight Council of the Intelligence Services (nowadays named Oversight Council of the SIRP) and the Data Oversight Commission, the Superior Council of Intelligence and the Technical Commission, a permanent staff of the Superior Council of Intelligence, headed by a Secretary-General.
As a result of several hesitations, SIS became operational in 1987, two years...
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