The president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Minister Edson Fachin, spoke individually with ministers about the proposal to establish a code of conduct for members of the Court. No meetings have yet been held between ministers to address the issue.
Although there is internal resistance to the idea, Fachin made it clear in his speech given at the STF plenary this Friday, the 19th, that he will not give up on the debate. The president has also spoken about the subject with two retired Supreme Court ministers: Rosa Weber and Celso de Mello.
Among presidents of higher courts, there is consensus on the adoption of a judicial code. Fachin has the endorsement of Cármen Lúcia, president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE); Herman Benjamin, who commands the Superior Court of Justice (STJ); by Luiz Philippe Vieira de Mello Filho, from the Superior Labor Court (TST); and Maria Elizabeth Rocha, from the Superior Military Court (STM).
Continues after advertising
However, to be able to approve a proposal that binds the STF, it will need the support of the majority of the court’s members. Fachin’s objective is to institute the code by the end of his term as president, in September 2027. Today, the scenario does not favor the president of the Court.
As Estadão showed, only a small wing of the Court – of two ministers – was uncomfortable with the Court’s exposure in the Master case due to the controversial personal and financial relationships between ministers who will judge the cases and those being investigated, suspected of fraud worth R$12.2 billion in the banking system.
Although members of the court avoid commenting publicly to preserve “esprit de corps”, behind the scenes, the discomfort is visible through the connections revealed between ministers Dias Toffoli and Alexandre de Moraes with Master’s controllers.
Last week, Toffoli, who traveled on a jet with one of the lawyers in the case, prevented the INSS CPI from accessing the material breaking the banking, tax and telematic secrecy of the bank’s controller, Daniel Vorcaro.
Moraes’ wife, Viviane de Moraes, signed a contract worth R$129 million between the law firm and Banco Master. According to the newspaper The Globethe Moraes family bank would represent the bank “where necessary”.
The president of the STF, Edson Fachin, proposed to ministers the creation of a Code of Conduct as soon as he took office as president of the court, in September. The idea, however, only gained strength after the exposure of Toffoli and Moraes’ relationships around the Master case.
Continues after advertising
One of the points that the president of the STF wants to discipline is the participation of ministers in events sponsored by groups with cases in the higher courts.
A survey by Estadão shows that Master sponsored six events in Brazil and abroad with the presence of four ministers from the current composition of the STF (Dias Toffoli, Gilmar Mendes, Alexandre de Moraes and Luiz Fux), two retired ministers (Luís Roberto Barroso and Ricardo Lewandowski), the Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, and also the Attorney General of the Union, Jorge Messias, nominated for Barroso’s vacancy in the STF.
Between 2022 and 2025, there were six forums or conferences in Brazil. The majority took place abroad, with Master as sponsor and Vorcaro among the speakers. The Master was involved in conferences and forums with the participation of STF ministers in New York, Rome, London, Paris and Cambridge (USA).
Continues after advertising
