Villas Bôas Cueva takes office this Tuesday as Minister of TSE

The minister of Superior Court of Justice (STJ) Ricardo Villas Boas Cueva takes office this Tuesday 16 as Prime Minister of Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE). The magistrate has served as deputy minister of the Electoral Tribunal since February 2024. The ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Villas Bôas Cueva was appointed by the STJ plenary and takes over as minister Isabelle Gallottiwho ended his two-year term as TSE minister on November 21. After the ceremony, the election for the position of Inspector General of the Electoral Tribunal will take place.

Before arriving at the STJ, Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva was a state prosecutor in Sao Paulo and the National Treasury. He also worked as a lawyer and was part of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade)as an advisor.

The magistrate was appointed minister of the STJ in 2011, in a position intended for law, after being proposed by the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB). Since then, he has been part of the Second Section and the Third Chamber of the Court, specializing in private law. In April 2023, he joined the Special Court, a position left vacant by the death of Minister Paulo de Tarso Sanseverino.

Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva graduated in law from University of São Paulo (USP)master of Harvard University and doctorate from the University of Frankfurt.

Minutes leak

In September this year, Federal Police Investigation into Scheme to Sell Decisions and Disclose STJ Information identified draft decisions of Court ministers in a lobbyist’s notebook Andreson de Oliveira Gonçalves. THE Operation Sisamnes revealed that the documents were linked to the offices of Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva and three other STJ ministers, as well as a former minister.

At the time, ministers claimed to be unaware of the leaks and denied having favored the parties represented by the lobbyist. An investigative report indicated that Andreson had a voting plan that would be given by Villas Bôas Cueva during a trial before the Third Chamber of the STJ. The file was created four days before the session of February 6, 2024. Contacted at the time, the minister’s office made no comment.

Composition of the TSE

The Superior Electoral Tribunal is composed of seven members: three ministers of Federal Court (STF)two ministers from the STJ and two lawyers with notable legal knowledge appointed by the STF and appointed by the President of the Republic. Alternate ministers are also elected in equal numbers per category.

Terms of office last two years, with the possibility of consecutive renewal. The exception concerns STJ ministers, who hold this position at the TSE for a single biennium.