The -SP (Brazilian Bar Association of São Paulo) presented a new suggestion to the (Supreme Federal Court), this time for a digital code of ethics for the court.
In January, through its commission, the entity had already sent a proposal for an institution to the president of the court.
The new proposal, sent last Thursday (12), addresses both what is published by ministers on public networks and the way they communicate privately, such as through messaging applications. There are also standards aimed at greater security in the digital sphere and on process distribution systems.
In the suggestion already sent, there were guidelines for greater transparency, restrictions on conflicts of interest and rules for quarantine after leaving office.
This new list of standards was drawn up based on a study coordinated by lawyer Ronaldo Lemos, who is also a columnist for Sheetand included the participation of lawyers Evane Beiguelman, Luiz Fernando Martins Castro and Celina Bottino, who work on topics related to technology.
The idea of creating a code of conduct for the court is supported by Fachin, who creates a rule. This initiative, however, is resisted by the court’s ministers. This debate unfolds amid the Supreme Court’s image crisis in light of the questions that are accumulating regarding the relations between ministers Moraes and Toffoli with Banco Master and its owner, Daniel Vorcaro.
For the OAB-SP, this code must prohibit ministers from commenting on pending processes or those subject to judgment, disclosing internal or confidential information as well as maintaining digital interactions that compromise their impartiality.
It also provides that, although ministers have full freedom to communicate in a personal, private capacity and as citizens, they must separate their private personal communications from communications made on an institutional basis.
Furthermore, it establishes the prohibition of communication, through personal systems and devices, with the parties to a process – whether by digital or physical means.
Adding that contacts of an official nature must occur through institutional channels that allow registration and preservation and that the use of “ephemeral messages, emails and other forms of communication that impede the auditability of institutional communications” is prohibited.
This month, they came to light, on the day he was arrested for the first time. The minister denies having received the messages. Communications were made through single-view messages on WhatsApp, which disappear after being viewed.
In another area, the proposal also deals with the court’s distribution system, through which case rapporteurs are drawn among ministers.
Among the suggestions is that critical institutional systems must maintain complete and auditable logs and that changes to systems or process distribution rules require a prior formal procedure.
Finally, it foresees that formal mechanisms be created to address the issue.
There is also a proposal related to transparency, stating that members of the court must maintain “a public and updated statement of their corporate interests, including spouses and first-degree relatives.” It is prohibited to act in processes involving entities in which it has an economic interest.
Report delivered by the Federal Police to Fachin, which culminated in the exchange of reports on the Banco Master case, had messages exchanged between Vorcaro and his brother-in-law, in which both .
According to the OAB-SP, international standards served as inspiration, such as the guidelines of the Council of Europe and the UN Global Judicial Integrity Network (United Nations), among others.
