In the case of Salvador Coutinho dos Santos Amado v. Portugal the Court held that there had been no violation of the right to a fair hearing.

The case concerned an appraisal of the applicant by the High Council of the Judiciary (Conselho Superior da Magistratura – CSM), in which his performance was rated as “poor”. As a result, disciplinary proceedings were automatically opened against him, pending the completion of which he was temporarily suspended from his duties as a judge.

The Court noted that the complaints raised before it concerned only the applicant’s appraisal and not the disciplinary proceedings. The “civil” aspect of Article 6 was applicable in the case, since the applicant’s rating had had tangible consequences on the performance of his duties as a judge. The Court then found that the Supreme Court’s assessment did not appear to have been arbitrary or manifestly unreasonable, and had duly contained reasons. The applicant had thus been afforded a judicial review of sufficient scope, and the proceedings before the Supreme Court had been conducted as a whole in compliance with his right to a fair hearing.

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