OAB asks Fachin and Carmen for ‘prudence’ for the STF Code of Conduct

The Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) sent a letter this Wednesday to the presidencies of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) with the suggestion that the Code of Conduct that will be debated by the courts strengthens the integrity and transparency of the Court. The organization also calls for the formulation of “integrity rules and prevention of conflicts of interest” as an instrument to reinforce the impartiality and protection of the institution.

The document signed by the president of the OAB, Beto Simonetti, was forwarded to ministers Edson Fachin and Carmen Lúcia, who preside over the courts. The initiative takes place in the face of the worsening crisis in the Court in the wake of the Banco Master case.

“The Code of Ethics, if adopted, must be guided by a substantive objective: promoting transparency, institutional responsibility and public trust, not by generic restrictions or mechanisms that, in practice, reduce constitutional guarantees or the quality of judicial provision. In particular, it is necessary that rules of integrity and prevention of conflicts of interest are designed as instruments to reinforce the impartiality and protection of the institution, with clear and applicable criteria, avoiding ambiguities that could encourage sterile disputes or case-by-case interpretations”, says.

Opportunity with security!

The OAB states that the construction of the parameters present in the document must be carried out with “prudence, method and consistency”, to prevent the result from becoming a “merely reactive measure to current circumstances” or a “symbolic short-term solution”.

“The Federal Council reaffirms that institutional integrity is not built with measures aimed at momentary repercussions, but with a consistent normative design, with transparent decision-making processes and with mechanisms that support public and institutional scrutiny in a balanced way. A Code of Ethics, if this is the path chosen by the Federal Supreme Court, must be designed to qualify the Court’s governance, and not to generate artificial constructions for the functioning of the justice system”, argues the OAB.

The letter also informs that the OAB will establish a permanent forum for debate on the topic “with the purpose of promoting continued reflection, gathering technical input and ensuring national unity in the institutional participation of the legal profession”.

“This forum will seek to qualify the Order’s contribution, allowing dialogue with the Federal Supreme Court to take place with consistency, representativeness and adherence to the realities of the different units of the federation”, points out the document.