The president of the Federal Supreme Court, Edson Fachin, announced this Monday (2) that minister Cármen Lúcia accepted to be the rapporteur of the proposal for a Code of Ethics for members of the STF.
“I publicly thank, as I have already done directly to all the members of this Court, the eminent minister Cármen Lúcia for accepting the report on the proposal for a Code of Ethics, a commitment of my administration for the Federal Supreme Court. Let’s walk together in building consensus within the scope of this collegiate”, he said during the opening speech of the Judiciary year.
During the speech, Fachin reinforced that doubts about conflicts of interest must always be dealt with transparently. The minister also highlighted that “no one considers that it could be different in a republican society”.
Opportunity with security!
The creation of a Code of Ethics for the Supreme Court occurs amid investigations into Banco Master, which highlighted possible conflicts of interest and family relationships between both minister Alexandre de Moraes and the minister-rapporteur, Dias Toffoli, in relation to the institution liquidated by the Central Bank.
The proposal written by Edson Fachin provides, among the obligations, the mandatory disclosure of funds received by ministers for participation in events and lectures. For retired ministers, the text also prohibits former members of the Court from advocating before the court and establishes a twelve-month “quarantine” so that they can return to providing consultancy and legal opinions.
Resistance to the theme
Since the revelation that Minister Edson Fachin was working on drafting a code of conduct for members of the Court, members of the court have expressed different opinions on the subject.
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A wing of the STF for the discussion, especially as the Senate analyzes an update to the Law on the Impeachment of Ministers, a topic that gained prominence with the Court’s role in the emblematic case that punished former president Jair Bolsonaro for the attempted coup d’état.
There is also a fear that the processing of the internal code will provide arguments to Congress and weaken the image of the STF, exposing possible differences between ministers at a time when the Court is trying to maintain cohesion after responding to anti-democratic acts.
