After a series of criticisms and pressure from society due to the conduct of some Supreme Court judges, Minister Edson Fachin battles to install a code of ethics for togados.
It is not new that there are conflicts of interest with STF ministers. Starting with the participation of ministers in events sponsored by companies with causes before the Supreme Court.
If this conduct already attracted the attention of society, new facts brought more attention from the press to the behavior of some ministers. The first was the hiring of Alexandre de Moraes’ millionaire wife to be a lawyer at Master bank. The case by itself would not be a problem if it were in another instance.
It’s not the case. The Master’s case is in the STF and could even be judged by the husband of Vorcaro’s lawyer. The episode gained even more attention from the press after Alexandre de Moraes met at Vorcaro’s residence to smoke cigars, as reported by the Metrópoles portal.
Another point of conflict of interest is the conduct of the Master process by reporting minister Dias Toffoli. Toffoli has brothers who did business – selling shares in Tayayá Aqua Resort – with the Arleen fund linked to Master.
In light of all these facts, a code of ethics for the STF is urgently needed. However, it is not enough to have written laws, but above all a change in behavior guided by ethical values capable of putting an end to conflicts of interest that defy common sense, even for those not involved in the legal world.
Written laws are not always necessary for ethical conduct to occur. On the contrary, there are countless cases in which the law only ratifies and solidifies values established in a society. In other words, ethics and morals precede laws.
That said, will the existence of a code of ethics change the conduct of some ministers?
*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Jovem Pan.
