Supreme Court nominee stated that criminalizing or decriminalizing conduct is the role of the National Congress
The president’s nominee (PT) to the Federal Supreme Court, said this Wednesday (April 29, 2026) that it is up to the National Congress to define, by law, what should be considered disinformation. The statement was made during a hearing at the Senate’s CCJ (Constitution and Justice Committee).
Messias responded to questions from the senator (PL-PR) about the role of the Judiciary and the AGU (Attorney General of the Union) in combating disinformation. The senator cited the role of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) in the 2022 elections and asked what the limit of judicial action on the issue should be.
The nominee stated that the actions of the Judiciary must respect due legal process, with a natural judge, broad defense and contradictory. He also said that freedom of expression must be the “lighthouse” of the debate and that “misinformation is still a vague concept”.
According to him, the best space to address the issue is Congress. Messias stated that Congress can contribute by objectively defining what should be understood as disinformation. “I advocate the thesis that the best space for this issue to be addressed is Parliament”these.
Messias also cited the , approved by the Senate and sent to the Chamber of Deputies. According to what was indicated, the TSE resolution on disinformation in the 2022 elections was published in a context of absence of legislative regulation.
He stated that the STF analyzed the rule and found it to be constitutional. Even so, he said he agrees that legal practitioners should avoid vague concepts, as he considers that they can be dangerous in judicial interpretation and in the application of the norm to the specific case.
“We must always move away from vague concepts, because they are dangerous from the point of view of judicial interpretation and the application of the norm to the specific case”he declared.
Criminalization of drugs
The defense that Congress should decide public policy issues also appeared in response to the senator s (União-MT). The congressman questioned Messias about the decriminalization of drugs by the Judiciary, especially by the STF.
Messias stated that criminalizing or decriminalizing conduct is the responsibility of the Legislative Power. According to him, the STF should not act as a positive legislator nor as a “third legislative House”.
The nominee also said that each Branch has a role to play and stated that, if approved, it will respect the institutional limits of the Judiciary. “There is nothing worse in this country than a judge who is not clear about his limits”he declared.
NOMINATION OF JORGE MESSIAS
Jorge Messias was appointed by the president (PT) on November 20 for the vacancy opened with the retirement of Luís Roberto Barroso. As a result, he will have waited 160 days between the announcement of the nomination and the hearing in the Senate. The official message with the indication, however, only 4 months after the announcement. According to this criterion, the wait was 28 days.
The interval places Messias above André Mendonça, who had been the minister who waited the longest to be questioned since redemocratization. Appointed by (PL) in July 2021, Mendonça waited 141 days before being heard by the CCJ, according to a Poder360 survey published in 2023.
To take office in the Supreme Court, Messias must be approved by the CCJ and then by the Senate plenary. In the final vote, at least 41 votes in favor are required among the 81 senators. Voting is secret.
WHO IS JORGE MESSIAS
Jorge Rodrigo Araújo Messias is 46 years old and has been at the head of AGU since 2023. He has a law degree from UFPE (Federal University of Pernambuco) and a master’s and doctorate from UnB (University of Brasília), according to information from the Senate.
In his public career, he served as a prosecutor for the Central Bank and the National Treasury. He also held positions in the Civil House and the Ministry of Education. The rapporteur for the nomination in the Senate is Senator Weverton (PDT-MA), who presented a favorable opinion on the name of Messias.
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