The minister, president of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), demanded the end of the teleworking regime in the states and faster voter registration in places where there are still pending issues in this regard.
Cármen’s message was given during a meeting with presidents of TREs (Regional Electoral Courts), in which she presented recommendations of conduct for the judiciary — a set of measures seen as a kind of basis for the code of ethics that Minister Edson Fachin defends for the Federal Supreme Court.
With the end of the pandemic, teleworking also ended, said the president of , according to reports from those present at the meeting, which took place on the 10th.
A Sheet sought the leadership of the 27 electoral courts in the states and the Federal District after the meeting with Cármen. Publicly, the presidents who spoke praised the initiative of the president of the TSE to establish greater transparency regarding the actions of judges.
Under reservation, one wing also saw in the rules of conduct a possibility of greater control over the actions of members of the courts who come from the legal profession and who can act in the defense of private causes even while they are magistrates.
Both the TSE and the TREs have seven full members, two of whom are lawyers who serve as judges for two-year terms, renewable for another two years.
During this period, they have restrictions such as being unable to work on electoral causes, but they can continue advocating for other clients.
This wing also states that, unlike members of higher courts, the idea of a code of conduct does not suffer as much resistance from the judiciary, and that is why there were no demonstrations against it.
Cármen announced the rules for electoral judges in early February, after resuming Judiciary work following the Christmas and New Year break.
She listed ten guidelines, including that the electoral magistrate make public hearings with the parties and their lawyers, as well as candidates and political parties. The rules also state that the presence of judges at public or private events in which candidates and their representatives socialize creates a conflict of interest.
Another guideline is that magistrates should not receive gifts that cast doubt on the impartiality of their decisions.
In addition to demonstrations under reservations, presidents of regional electoral courts also sent open opinions or published information about the meeting on the courts’ websites.
The president of TRE-PB, Oswaldo Trigueiro, highlighted his concern about lawyers who become magistrates when commenting on the conduct of the judiciary.
“These are precautions inherent to the magistrate, especially in the relationship with the political segment and with lawyers who now sit as members”, said Trigueiro.
Some of the courts, such as those in Amazonas, Rio de Janeiro and Mato Grosso, highlighted the actions they have taken to accelerate the process of biometrization of the electorate, as demanded by the minister.
“The minister thanked us for everything that has already been done with biometrics and that she awaits a possible improvement in these numbers, because now in the period when registration is closed [eleitoral]people will look for [a Justiça Eleitoral]”, said the president of TRE-MT, Serly Marcondes Alves.
In a note after the meeting, the TSE published speeches by TRE presidents praising Cármen’s initiative and said that the minister highlighted that, “with the adoption of the recommendations, it will be possible to seek to standardize conduct, thus strengthening institutional credibility during the electoral period”
“The rules reinforce the need for transparency, ethics and impartiality in the work of Electoral Justice magistrates,” said the court’s statement.
At the beginning of February, Cármen Lúcia was also announced by the president of , , as the minister of the Supreme Court. The idea has been met with resistance by a section of court members.
The rules announced within the scope of the Electoral Court have been seen as a preview of the proposals that Cármen should make in the Supreme Court.
The list of items in the recommendations also states that “signals favorable or contrary to candidates, political parties or ideologies” are not admissible and that statements “about the political choice” of the judges are unacceptable.
Another rule established by Cármen is that “the magistrate must not commit to non-judicial activities that affect the fulfillment of their functional duties”. “The judicial function is a personal performance, non-transferable and irreplaceable by the magistrate”, says the rule.
