http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_PORTUGAL_BURDEN_OF_HISTORY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-09-13-03-55-12
LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- Three times over the past year, the 13 judges of Portugal's Constitutional Court have solemnly filed into a tall-ceilinged room in Lisbon's 19th-century Palacio Ratton and slammed the brakes on key steps in the country's attempts to overhaul its economy.
Dressed in full-length black robes, the judges ruled that the government's plans to cut spending by more than 3 billion euros ($4 billion) were unconstitutional because they would infringe on workers' rights, including equality and job security.
Since coming to power two years ago, the government hasn't won a single economic argument with the court and has had to scramble to make up the budget shortfall, largely through higher taxes. Those increases have cost many people the equivalent of more than a month's pay this year.
The rulings have tried the patience of Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, who is desperately trying to conclude Portugal's three-year bailout program. He has urged the judges to show "more common sense" and take into account the country's economic plight. Portuguese government attorneys are now scouring law books, looking for a way through the constitutional minefield.
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