Illustrated book explains to younger people who the ‘Guardian of the Constitution’ is

‘O Guardian of the Constitution’, which will be presented on Monday in Lisbon, is an initiative of the Constitutional Court (TC), which invited the writer Isabel Minhós Martins and the illustrator Yara Kono to make a book that would raise awareness and explain the importance of the work of the TC.

The book, with about 40 pages, starts by approaching the meaning of “guardian”, as someone who guards something that has value, be it a goalkeeper, a gardener or a doctor, until reaching the concept of a court that guards the Constitution.

In the book, Isabel Minhós Martins recalls that the Constitution is “the main law of a country, the law that is above all other laws” and that “it is like the project of a house, a kind of map” for the country.

“The Constitution is the most important and precious thing in a country. Therefore, we don’t want it run over or hurt (or offended!)”, reads in the book.

In the following pages, it is explained that it is the Constitutional Court that works so that there are no offenses to the Constitution.

“Like other judges, a judge of the Constitutional Court must also act as an arbitrator, an independent and impartial arbitrator, who is always at the service of the Constitution”, says the book.

Isabel Minhós Martins explained to the Lusa agency that this illustrated book can be a first approach for young people to get to know the Constitutional Court and have contact with some of the principles inscribed in the Constitution.

“The Guardian of the Constitution” is recommended for readers between six and twelve years old and ends with a double page of questions and more detailed answers about the powers of the Constitutional Court, about the election of judges, about what is written in the Constitution , which is an Ombudsman and an Attorney General of the Republic.

The book is an edition of the Constitutional Court itself, included in the celebrations of its 40th anniversary, and will be on sale in bookstores.

The launch is scheduled for Monday, at 2 pm, at Palácio Ratton, in Lisbon, and will feature an illustration workshop, promoted by Planeta Tangerina with the participation of over forty children.

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