The journalists' right to professional secrecy is inscribed in the Portuguese Constitution, in the Press Law and the Journalist's Statute but, in the real world, what is the effective juridical protection that it has? Under what circumstances can it be forced to give in to other values protected by the mother of all laws?

Since it is also a deontological duty, the confidentiality of sources should, by principle, be taken to its last consequences. But what is the importance of keeping a pact of silence with those who gave the journalist informations under the condition of anonymity?

These are some of the questions that we try to answer, at the same time that we delve into issues like the collision between the right to professional secrecy and the right to the prosecution or the good administration of justice - both of which are inscribed in the Constitution -, as well as the limits to those rights and the need to balance them.

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