The president of the (Superior Military Court), defended this Monday (15) what has been proposed by the president of the (Supreme Federal Court), and is suffering internal resistance from the court.
She also stated that she understood that the rules of a possible code should also be valid for the ministers of the STF itself.
“It is important that the Supreme Court sets an example. The Supreme Court has to set an example for all the judiciary that is below it,” Maria Elizabeth told journalists at the STM headquarters.
According to the minister, Fachin has already discussed the issue with the presidents of higher courts — in addition to her, Herman Benjamin, from the (Superior Court of Justice), Luiz Philippe Vieira de Mello Filho, from the TST (Superior Labor Court), and the TSE (Superior Electoral Court).
All of them, says the minister, are in favor of the measures. “There needs to be clarity in the attitudes and behavior of the judiciary, especially the superior judiciary. When citizens knock on the doors of the Judiciary, the State has failed them in everything, so the Judiciary cannot fail”, said Maria Elizabeth.
“It is important to have an ethical code that makes it very clear what conduct we should adopt when exercising our profession. It is not a question of us being the vestals of democracy or the vestals of purity, it is about us honoring the toga we wear and the profession we embrace”, he stated.
“This is not cheap moralism, this is a civic imperative, an imperative of the Republic.”
For the president of the STM, the rule could be approved by the (National Council of Justice), a supervisory body to which the Supreme Court is not subject, but it would still be important for the country’s most important court to adhere to the text.
Fachin has been betting on strengthening a public debate on transparency to convince other ministers to approve a code of ethics in the court.
The model that serves as inspiration for the code that Fachin wants to approve in the Supreme Court is that of . The minister gave preference to it over other European codes that emphasize prohibitions, according to people who follow discussions on the topic.
This approach helps prevent dissatisfied ministers from publicly criticizing the initiative.
Even so, in a reserved manner, the idea of a code of conduct provoked complaints from members of the Supreme Court, who saw the measure as an unnecessary exposure of ministers at a time of reaction against the Judiciary.
The plan to create a type of code of ethics in the Supreme Court dates back to the beginning of the minister’s tenure at the court, which began at the end of September. Even before, he had already discussed the topic with legal academics.
The idea gained prominence after, in Peru, during the Copa Libertadores final, in a private jet alongside one of the lawyers involved in the Master case, whose investigations are under the supervision of the magistrate.
Seminars and forums held in Brazil and abroad also become frequent targets of questions, both about the financing of the events and the participation of ministers alongside politicians, businesspeople and people potentially interested in court proceedings.
