The president of the (Supreme Federal Court), stated this Thursday (19) that “dialogue will be the basis” for the creation of a code of ethics for the judiciary, regarding the initiative.
The mention was made in the Judiciary’s closing speech for the year, in a session of the court’s plenary session. Fachin spoke about transparency and the need for “institutional vigilance, decision-making responsibility and permanent attention to the legitimacy of the courts” before going into the topic of the code.
“In this sense, I could not fail to make reference to the proposal, still in development, to debate a set of ethical guidelines for the judiciary”, stated the president of the Supreme Court.
“Considering the expressive body that has been spontaneously taking up the topic in public debate, I address the eminent minister [Cármen Lúcia] and to eminent ministers, and also to Brazilian society, to say that dialogue will be the basis of this debate.”
Fachin also said that the country needs peace and that “the Judiciary has a duty to sow peace”, but “without ignoring dissent, which is a vital element of democracy”.
“Reasoned disagreements enrich judicial work, improve technique and reinforce the legitimacy of decisions. Qualified dialogue is an instrument of republican maturity”, he stated.
He placed the development of these standards as one of the priority issues for 2026.
The president’s proposal for the code of ethics led to internal criticism from ministers, even before it was formalized.
A wing of the court questioned the timing of these norms being discussed publicly, during a crisis in the Supreme Court with the .
Fachin has been betting on transparency to try to reduce internal resistance and 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 Germany, which prioritizes transparency. 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.
According to a member of the higher court, no minister will publicly oppose the disclosure of amounts received in lectures or who paid for a trip to Europe.
One of the reasons is that the STF itself has demanded transparency from , especially in the execution of parliamentary amendments, from the Executive and from companies.
In this Friday’s speech, Fachin used a phrase from political philosopher Norberto Bobbio to defend transparency. The minister said that “the democratic legitimacy of institutions depends on the publicity of acts of power and the possibility of control by citizens.”
“Transparency, therefore, is not an accessory attribute, but a constitutive element of the democratic rule of law.”
When listing the priorities for next year, Fachin listed, in addition to the code of ethics, the discussion on remuneration for the judiciary and the deepening of the collegiality of judgments.
“Let us reiterate: transparency is key regarding remuneration modalities. Our uncompromising respect for dignity and career enhancement will, to the same extent, contain abuses”, said the minister.
He also defended action for human rights, commitment to legal certainty, transparency and sustainability.
He also apologized to the minister, who was the target of financial sanctions from the United States.
“May this court never bow to threats, no matter where they come from. Therefore, registering, at the end of this year, the lifting of the unfair and unacceptable application of the Magnitsky Law to his excellency, Minister Alexandre de Mores and his family”, said Fachin.
