We were, in fact, hopeful. There was a good wave regarding greater transparency and more effective control of public spending. Under the minister’s report, the tentacles of the Secret Budget were relatively contained, the “Pix amendments” were extinguished and, everything indicates, compulsory retirement as the maximum penalty for magistrates will also be.
The minister, since assuming the presidency of the Court, has openly highlighted the transparency of the Judiciary, a kind of taboo in the legal world, as one of the flags of his administration. Amid the clamor of the Master case, which shed light on the actions of two of its members, the ministers and , we saw the important discussion about the creation of one taking shape and gaining traction, including the support of organized civil society.
The impenetrable wall of the Judiciary seemed to be cracking. Hope for structural and systemic change in the Republic’s less transparent power began to perfume the air. It was in this context that yesterday’s plenary decision made it clear that those who were less optimistic were right: in the institutions.
It is unfair to say that the decision did not bring important advances, such as the prohibition of the creation of compensation funds by administrative act and state laws and the extinction of 14 flagrantly immoral aid and bonuses. With the prohibition that other careers (Courts of Auditors, Public Defenders and Public Advocacy) create advantages through equalization and the end of the analogy between the MP and the Judiciary, we will certainly have significant savings in the public coffers (more than R$7 billion per year, according to an estimate presented during the trial itself).
On the transparency side, the decision determines the standardization of remuneration items and obliges courts, Public Ministries, Public Defenders’ Offices, Audit Courts and Public Law Offices to publish the exact amounts received monthly by their members. Very important! But it is something that has already been consolidated in the Executive and Legislative branches for at least a decade… The definition that public lawyers’ legal fees are public values is also a very welcome truism.
We highlight the improvements, but we also cannot ask the audience to give a standing ovation for the delayed show. It’s the famous poster that parents take to graduation parties and go viral on social media: “Congratulations, Mariana, you didn’t do more than your obligation”.
Even more so because what changed, in part, changed the name, scale or place, but not the structure. The decision made it legal for judges and prosecutors; conclusion duly criticized by the minister. See below, showing how, in practice, the new salary cap for the judiciary is now almost R$80,000:
They follow the extract (even this fictitious one already with seven slabs built above), and exempt from income tax: pro-labore for teaching, bonus for district that is difficult to fill, bonus for cumulative exercise of jurisdiction, daily allowances, travel allowance in case of changing the place of work, compensation for untaken vacations and the glorious and envied 60-day vacation (with an additional ⅓ not limited by the ceiling). Even more serious is the decision to unearth the already extinct additional service time. The text also allows the payment of retroactive payments after a joint resolution by the CNJ and CNMP, which must be approved by the STF.
The STF’s decision is only considered a great victory by those who have already resigned and accepted that there is a superior caste in Brazil that does not operate in the same atmosphere as mere mortals. It’s an important step forward, but for now, just to get to the starting line. The race is still far from over.
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