Emperor or President? Understanding the (almost) unlimited power of the Brazilian Supreme Court’s President

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Revista Brasileira de Direito, ISSN 2238-0604, Vol. 13, Nº. 1, 2017 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Revista Brasileira de Direito. Jan-Abr/2017), pags. 161-176

English

Social Sciences
Law
Brazil’s Chief Justice
Brazilian Supreme Court
Scheduling

Social Sciences
Law
Brazil’s Chief Justice
Brazilian Supreme Court
Scheduling
Santiago Lima, Flavia Danielle
Dantas de Andrade, Louise
Moura de Oliveira, Tassiana
Emperor or President? Understanding the (almost) unlimited power of the Brazilian Supreme Court’s President

ABSTRACT This research’s question is “is it possible to explore the constitutional and internal norms that regulate the actions of STF’s President in order to identify: decision-making process in the court and/or accountability according to the principles of the rule of law?” Primarily, it is necessary to acknowledge STF structure. There were 57,056 actions – up until August 24, 2015 – awaiting appreciation at Brazilian Supreme Court, according to data provided by the institution itself. Later, one needs to comprehend how the internal procedure to organize its schedule works. Internal rules grant the President of the Supreme Court the power to decide about what will be heard by the ministers, although normative responses about criteria taken into account are obscure or, at least, insufficient, for their lack of objectivity. This paper posits that, if “first come, first heard” is not the most important criteria in scheduling, the course of the cases in the court are subjected to the President's whim, and hence there are no legal limits for his or her decisions. Furthermore, the President is not selected for this specific task by any authorities, but elected by his or her peers – according to a tradition that dictates that the oldest in court should be president. The social accountability of a court renowned for the wide publicity – live broadcast on TV and radio, Twitter e Youtube, and others – contrasts with the comparative lack of control over its trial schedule. This research describes the consequences of these factors over the court’s schedule and reflects upon its democratic accountability. 

Article

Santiago Lima, Flavia Danielle
Dantas de Andrade, Louise
Moura de Oliveira, Tassiana

Santiago Lima, Flavia Danielle
Dantas de Andrade, Louise
Moura de Oliveira, Tassiana

Santiago Lima, Flavia Danielle

Emperor or President? Understanding the (almost) unlimited power of the Brazilian Supreme Court’s President

Emperor or President? Understanding the (almost) unlimited power of the Brazilian Supreme Court’s President

Emperor or President? Understanding the (almost) unlimited power of the Brazilian Supreme Court’s President

Emperor or President? Understanding the (almost) unlimited power of the Brazilian Supreme Court’s President

Emperor or President? Understanding the (almost) unlimited power of the Brazilian Supreme Court’s President

emperor or president? understanding the (almost) unlimited power of the brazilian supreme court’s president

2017

https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/oaiart?codigo=5899565

1709745655153426432

dialnet-ar-18-ART00011615032019-07-20Emperor or President? Understanding the (almost) unlimited power of the Brazilian Supreme Court’s PresidentSantiago Lima, Flavia DanielleDantas de Andrade, LouiseMoura de Oliveira, TassianaSocial SciencesLawBrazil’s Chief JusticeBrazilian Supreme CourtSchedulingABSTRACT This research’s question is “is it possible to explore the constitutional and internal norms that regulate the actions of STF’s President in order to identify: decision-making process in the court and/or accountability according to the principles of the rule of law?” Primarily, it is necessary to acknowledge STF structure. There were 57,056 actions – up until August 24, 2015 – awaiting appreciation at Brazilian Supreme Court, according to data provided by the institution itself. Later, one needs to comprehend how the internal procedure to organize its schedule works. Internal rules grant the President of the Supreme Court the power to decide about what will be heard by the ministers, although normative responses about criteria taken into account are obscure or, at least, insufficient, for their lack of objectivity. This paper posits that, if “first come, first heard” is not the most important criteria in scheduling, the course of the cases in the court are subjected to the President's whim, and hence there are no legal limits for his or her decisions. Furthermore, the President is not selected for this specific task by any authorities, but elected by his or her peers – according to a tradition that dictates that the oldest in court should be president. The social accountability of a court renowned for the wide publicity – live broadcast on TV and radio, Twitter e Youtube, and others – contrasts with the comparative lack of control over its trial schedule. This research describes the consequences of these factors over the court’s schedule and reflects upon its democratic accountability. Esta pesquisa propõe a seguinte pergunta: "é possível explorar as normas constitucionais e internas que regulam as ações do Presidente do STF a fim de identificar: o processo de tomada de decisão no tribunal e / ou prestação de contas de acordo com os princípios do Estado de Direito?. Inicialmente, é necessário reconhecer a estrutura STF. Houve 57.056 ações - até 24 de agosto de 2015 - aguardando apreciação no Supremo Tribunal Federal, de acordo com dados fornecidos pela própria instituição. Depois, é preciso compreender como funciona o procedimento interno para organizar seu cronograma. As regras internas conferem ao Presidente da Suprema Corte o poder de decidir sobre o que será ouvido pelos ministros, embora as respostas normativas sobre os critérios tomados em consideração sejam obscuras ou, pelo menos, insuficientes, por sua falta de objetividade. Este artigo postula que, se "primeiro a chegar, primeiro ouvido" não é o critério mais importante na programação, o curso dos casos no tribunal estão sujeitos ao capricho do presidente e, portanto, não há limites legais para suas decisões. Além disso, o presidente não é selecionado para esta tarefa específica por quaisquer autoridades, mas eleito por seus pares - de acordo com uma tradição que determina que o mais antigo no tribunal deve ser presidente. A responsabilidade social de um tribunal reconhecido pela ampla publicidade - transmissão ao vivo na TV e rádio, Twitter e Youtube e outros - contrasta com a falta comparativa de controle sobre o cronograma do julgamento. Esta pesquisa descreve as conseqüências desses fatores sobre o cronograma do tribunal e reflete sobre sua responsabilidade democrática. Palavras-chave: Presidente do STFl; Supremo Tribunal Federal; Agendamento.2017text (article)application/pdfhttps://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/oaiart?codigo=5899565(Revista) ISSN 2238-0604Revista Brasileira de Direito, ISSN 2238-0604, Vol. 13, Nº. 1, 2017 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Revista Brasileira de Direito. Jan-Abr/2017), pags. 161-176engLICENCIA DE USO: Los documentos a texto completo incluidos en Dialnet son de acceso libre y propiedad de sus autores y/o editores. Por tanto, cualquier acto de reproducción, distribución, comunicación pública y/o transformación total o parcial requiere el consentimiento expreso y escrito de aquéllos. Cualquier enlace al texto completo de estos documentos deberá hacerse a través de la URL oficial de éstos en Dialnet. 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