Amid the image crisis of the (Supreme Federal Court) due to the repercussions of the investigation into , the president of the court, , defended that magistrates act with “a healthy distance from the parties and interests at stake”.
The declaration took place this Tuesday (10), during a meeting with presidents of higher courts and second instance courts. Fachin did not mention the investigation into fraud or the strain currently affecting the minister.
“In our country, the healthy distance we maintain from the parties and interests at stake is what allows, in practice, a minimum of social justice. Impartiality is not coldness, it is a condition for the possibility of equity”, stated Fachin.
“While we still don’t have the world we want, we will need judges who have real conditions to guarantee the law for everyone. For everyone, without exception”, stressed the president of the Supreme Court.
According to him, Justice cannot be “imprisoned in parochial interests, economic convenience or political calculations”. Judicial decisions, continued the minister, must always be well-founded and “capable of surviving the most ruthless public examination”.
Last week, messages exchanged between Moraes and the businessman, owner of Master, came to light on the day he was arrested for the first time. The minister denies having received the messages.
Added to the strain is the R$3.6 million monthly contract that lawyer Viviane Barci, Moraes’ wife, signed with the bank to represent the interests of the financial institution in court. The office says .
Pendants
At this Tuesday’s event, Fachin also mentioned the debate on . According to the president of the STF, Brazilian judges “cannot be underpaid”, but any payment must be supported by the Federal Constitution.
“We know that this meeting takes place at a time of tension,” he admitted. He stated that judges “have the right to protection against the rising cost of living and deserve the prestige of the value that guides them: law, reason and justice.” He said, however, that the category’s functional privileges “are only sustained as long as public trust exists.”
“There is an ongoing debate about remuneration, benefits and what the Constitution allows and what it prohibits. I did not come here to impose conclusions, and I know that there are legitimate legal positions to be debated through the appropriate channels. But I came to say, with the respect that each one deserves, that the Judiciary cannot leave this moment less than it entered.”
The minister highlighted that “there can be no room for doubt” among society about the performance of Brazilian judges. “Not because they observe us, but because that’s who we are. Openness and permeability to public scrutiny do not weaken the judiciary”, said the president of the STF.
He also stated that it is necessary to start building the future of the Judiciary now, “with our example”.
“We cannot be indifferent to the ills of our population. We cannot remain indifferent to the demands for ethics and transparency that come from society, because these demands are legitimate, and to ignore them would be to betray the promise we once made to the Constitution.”
The president of the court cited “institutional and academic research” that reveals society’s main desires in relation to the Judiciary: faster and more efficient justice, an end to privileges and more transparency. “The discussion, therefore, is not only financial, but also institutional and symbolic, as it involves the public perception of integrity.”
