By defending the creation of a Code of Conduct for ministers of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and higher courts, the president of the STF, Edson Fachin, indicated his willingness to confront a delicate issue for his colleagues at the Court: the disclosure of fees received by judges during their participation in conferences, seminars and legal forums in Brazil and abroad.
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“It is not a question of banning (courses and seminars), but of ensuring transparency,” explains a minister who closely follows the behind-the-scenes discussions. “There will be resistance, but discreetly. I doubt anyone will expose themselves. The judiciary demands transparency from everyone, and does it not demand transparency from them?”
The subject is taboo at the STF, where ministers tend to ignore the principle of public transparency, not disclosing their appointment times or who they receive in their offices – and refusing to clarify the payment of accommodation and travel fees and expenses in legal forums in Brazil and abroad.
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An example is that of IDP, an institute linked to Minister Gilmar Mendes, which organizes “Gilmarpalooza” every year in Lisbon, bringing together businessmen, politicians and ministers from the Portuguese capital in an official program marked by discussion panels – and a parallel agenda of events marked by lobbying and dinners on hotel terraces away from the gaze of public opinion.
The model that Fachin’s team used as a reference to approach the issue is the code of the German Constitutional Court, which has 16 articles divided into four sections – and is considered by the STF presidency to be “very short and objective”.
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In one of them, on non-judicial actions of judges, the German text provides that judges can accept remuneration for their conferences, “only to the extent that this does not damage the reputation of the court and does not raise doubts as to the independence, impartiality, neutrality and integrity of its members”.
The law also says judges must disclose any income received for participating in these diaries – and allows the event organizer to reimburse “reasonable travel, lodging and food expenses” but does not set limits.
German court reveals values
The German court, equivalent to the Supreme Court of Brazil, reveals on its website how much judges received for their lectures and participation in events – data referring for example to 2024 shows that only the then vice-president, Doris König, received remuneration of this nature during this period, amounting to 10,000 euros.
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“A code of conduct like this, which increases transparency and clarifies the rules, aims to strengthen the authority of the court. It is a protection mechanism,” constitutional law professor Oscar Vilhena of FGV Direito São Paulo said on the blog.
“In a Republic there cannot be a zone of immunity. The conduct of STF ministers is in the public interest. I like the German code, because it is very concise and any citizen is able to understand it.”
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Member of the board of directors of the Fernando Henrique Cardoso Foundation, Vilhena presented to Minister Fachin in September this year a study entitled “Responsibility of the last word”, with 15 recommendations aimed at improving the functioning of the Court, target of an increasingly frequent number of impeachment requests.
In the theme “suggestions for strengthening the public reputation of the court”, the researchers defend the creation of a code of conduct with clauses that regulate not only “the obligations of ministers to declare remuneration or benefits for participation in activities outside the court”, but also public demonstrations and their participation in public or private events, “which may harm the reputation of the court”, in the same line as the manual adopted by the German court.
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One of the few STF ministers in the habit of publishing his ministerial appointments on a daily basis, the minister is not a fan of businessman-sponsored forums and has previously stated that “restraint and composure are ethical duties” and that “surrendering limits is an invitation to jump into the institutional abyss.”
The discussion of a code of ethics is part of an ethical and anti-corruption agenda defended by Fachin, former Lava-Jato rapporteur at the STF. Upon his accession to the presidency of the STF and the National Council of Justice (CNJ), in September, the minister created a body responsible for “identifying and preventing the risks of corruption, conflicts of interest, institutional capture and other threats to the independence and impartiality of justice”.
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The observatory is made up of Fachin, advisors to the CNJ itself, representatives of civil society and four other members – but it does not have the power to investigate the actions of the STF, which falls outside the council’s jurisdiction.
According to the Chronicle team, Fachin considered advocating the creation of a code of conduct in his inauguration speech in September this year, but the prevailing opinion among those around him was that it was better to avoid creating embarrassment – and first iron out the rough edges internally to reduce resistance to moving the file forward.
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The minister nevertheless transmitted his messages – and stressed that “judges also educate by their example”.
“As civil servants that we are, we are entitled to a dignified level of remuneration, which at the same time guarantees functional independence and does not perpetuate privileges, nor dilute their sense of duty. Transparency is essential with regard to remuneration arrangements. Our uncompromising respect for the dignity of the career, will to the same extent contain abuses,” declared the president of the STF.
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The latest examples from the STF, however, are not at all encouraging. Minister Dias Toffoli reinforced the confidentiality of investigations of Banco Master after traveling on a plane with the lawyer of one of the targets of the Federal Police operation on a a fraudulent scheme that reportedly reached 12 billion reais.
Minister Gilmar Mendes suspended the provisions of the impeachment law, in force since 1950, and decided on his own that Only the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) can request the dismissal of Supreme Court ministers.
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