The Federal Supreme Court (STF) plans a response to the decision of the Chamber of Deputies to maintain the mandate of deputy Carla Zambelli (PL-SP). The parliamentarians’ measure is a disobedience to the Court, which determined the immediate loss of her mandate after she was definitively convicted for participating in the invasion of the National Council of Justice (CNJ) system.
The decision in favor of Zambelli was taken by the Chamber in the early hours of this Thursday, 11th. Ministers of the court interpreted the parliamentarians’ attitude as an affront to the Judiciary, with the potential to amplify the crisis between the STF and the National Congress.
Following the Chamber’s disobedience, the court can take some actions. One of them is to wait for the arrival of an action, which may be authored by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), contesting non-compliance with the STF’s decision and asking for the vote in the Chamber to be annulled.
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This Thursday, the 11th, the PT leader in the Chamber, deputy Lindbergh Farias (RJ), announced that the party filed a request with the STF asking the court to force the president of the Legislative House, Hugo Motta, to comply with the decision to lose his mandate. “If Motta does not comply with the STF’s decision, he will be committing a criminal offense,” said the PT member.
Using this instrument, the Supreme Court could reinstate Zambelli’s loss of mandate and investigate the circumstances of the non-compliance. On the other hand, the case’s rapporteur, Alexandre de Moraes, could take steps alone to ensure compliance with the Court’s decision and invalidate the effects of the Chamber’s session.
There is consolidated jurisprudence in the STF for the loss of mandates of convicted parliamentarians. The same thing happened with former deputy Daniel Silveira, who was convicted of attacks on the STF and the Court’s ministers.
According to the Federal Constitution, the Chamber or the Senate decides on the definitive loss of a criminally convicted parliamentarian’s warrant. The STF’s understanding is that, for convictions in a closed regime, the loss of mandate is automatic, because it would be unfeasible to carry out parliamentary activity from within prison.
Zambelli was sentenced by the STF to ten years in prison. As a result, he was ineligible for eight years and was automatically deprived of his mandate. The deputy was also sentenced by the court to five years and three months in prison for illegal possession of a weapon and illegal restraint, for having chased, armed, a man on the street in 2022.
