The supreme minister is not untouchable

— Today more than ever, we know the extent of the ethical crisis in which the Supreme Court is mired, a crisis that it itself created. Whether by not disclosing lavish gifts or not declaring themselves excluded in cases with apparent conflicts of interest, it is clear that judges are losing the trust of the American people to a gang of sycophantic billionaires. — declared Democratic Senator Dick Durbin at the end of the investigation.

Clarence Thomas, appointed in 1991 by Bush Sr., hid jet rides and yacht excursions offered by a tycoon. Antonin Scalia, a Reagan appointee in 1986 (he died in 2016), accepted “for more than a decade lavish gifts from billionaires and people with cases before the courts, including 258 personal trips.” Sotomayor, appointed by Obama in 2009, failed to provide transparency regarding paid college travel. Unease over “ethical lapses” was measured by the Pew Research Center in August, when half of Americans said they had a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court – in 2020, 70% viewed it favorably.

The Brazilian Supreme Court is going through a similar crisis. Toffoli’s plane trip and Moraes’ wife’s contract with Master are the most recent controversies. But for some time now, the STF has ignored liability, whether in travel, events or in the work of family law lawyers. It also advances on legal issues, such as the excess of monocratic decisions or the modification of the rules of the game according to political convenience.

It is natural for coup supporters to feel uncomfortable with the Supreme Court. But this modus operandi has also begun to arouse unease among those who defend democracy and want the coup leader to be arrested. Among those who understand that true democracy is not just anything, but a functional system of checks and balances, which does not protect castes.

In the United States, the response to the crisis was the creation of a Code of Conduct in 2023. Here in Brazil, the president of the STF, Edson Fachin, had the courage to defend a manual of best practices. Some of the most influential ministers oppose it, as if it were a demerit to be on the same level as the rest of society, subject to written rules of conduct. Fachin takes as an example the German Constitutional Court which, five years before the Americans, published its manual of good practices. Among the principles, the obvious: judges can only accept gifts or trips that do not compromise the reputation of the court or call into question the independence and impartiality of its members.