The president of the Supreme Military Tribunal (STM), Maria Elizabeth Rocha, defended the adoption of a code of conduct for magistrates, as defended by the current president of the Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF), Edson Fachin. In an interview with journalists on Monday, the minister said the Supreme Court “must set an example” for other judges across the country.
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— It is important that the Supreme Court sets an example. The Supreme Court must set an example for all lower judges, she said at STM headquarters.
The minister said that Fachin had already discussed this issue with her as well as with other presidents of higher courts, such as Cármen Lúcia, of the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE); Herman Benjamin, of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ); and Luiz Philippe Vieira de Mello Filho, of the Superior Labor Court (TST). Maria Elizabeth points out that everyone is in favor of the code.
The minister declared that this rule does not constitute “cheap moralism”, but a “civic imperative”.
— The attitudes and behavior of the judiciary, particularly the higher judiciary, must be clear. When citizens knock on the doors of the judiciary, the state has failed them in everything, so the judiciary cannot fail – he argued. — It is important to have a code of ethics that clearly specifies the conduct we must adopt in the exercise of our profession. It is not a question of us being the vestal virgins of democracy or the vestal virgins of purity, it is a question of us honoring the toga that we wear and the profession that we embrace.
As O GLOBO has shown, the revelation that Fachin is working on developing a code of conduct for ministers of the Court itself and other higher courts has generated unease among members of the Court. The discussion was described as Fachin’s first major internal crisis as head of the Supreme Court. Behind the scenes, ministers are signaling that the creation of a set of rules should be put on hold until the climate for debate improves.
A wing of the STF questions the timing of the debate, especially as the Senate analyzes an update to the impeachment law – a sensitive subject which, according to ministers, coincides with demands for the dismissal of members of the Court, driven by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
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It is also believed that Fachin’s initiative was launched at a bad time for the court’s image, revealing that Minister Dias Toffoli traveled by private jet with a lawyer involved in the Master bank affair. Behind the scenes of the Supreme Court, members of the Court also note a lack of coordination between Fachin and his colleagues on the subject. The more reserved profile of the president of the STF is singled out as one of the factors in this discrepancy.
There are fears that the development of the internal code will provide arguments to Congress and weaken the image of the STF, revealing possible differences between ministers at a time when the Court strives to maintain cohesion after the response to the undemocratic acts of January 2023 and the conviction of former President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies in the coup plot.
The code of conduct is a project that Fachin would like to implement before becoming president of the Supreme Court in September. Since then, he has been discussing the topic with his STF colleagues and with the presidents of other higher courts – such as the STJ, STJ and STM – seeking support to move forward with the project, inspired by the code of conduct of the German Constitutional Court.
Contacted by GLOBO, the president of the STF declared that he “will always defend the authority, moral integrity and impartiality of the Court”.
The proposed code would include guidelines on transparency in participating in events, receiving funds and dealing with private entities, seeking to mitigate conflicts of interest. Fachin wants these principles to also extend to the National Council of Justice (CNJ), thus affecting the entire judiciary. At the CNJ, the discussion would have the support of the Observatory of Integrity and Transparency, created by Fachin.
The main challenge will be securing the six votes needed at an administrative session of the STF for the code to come into force, a step described by ministers as a potential point of tension. The consensus behind the scenes is that the proposal will be put on hold until the political environment stabilizes, thereby avoiding reinforcing external narratives about conflicts between the judiciary and Congress.
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