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Federal prosecutor Thaméa Danelon stated that Brazilian law is very clear and prohibits a judge from participating in a matter or vote that will benefit him. The fact that the other ministers accepted Dias Toffoli's participation in the vote is serious because it makes the obvious clear: the Supreme Federal Court (STF) is increasingly far from complying with the Federal Constitution.
“A judge cannot vote in a case in which he is the interested party. The law is clear in prohibiting the judge from participating. This is an issue that goes beyond the law, it is common sense, it is obvious. This could never happen. This only shows that the Supreme Court is increasingly distant from the law, especially when it comes to criminal and penal matters. Under no circumstances could Minister Toffoli have voted in this case,” the prosecutor stated.
The eleven justices of the Brazilian Supreme Court voted this Thursday (27) to annul the plea bargain agreement of the former governor of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral. He had denounced the STF minister for receiving bribes in the amount of R$1,400,000 to sell two sentences to politicians in Rio de Janeiro. By a vote of 7 to 4, the Supreme Court annulled Cabral's plea bargain and annulled 38 attachments – which denounced other politicians and authorities – to benefit his colleague on the Court. Toffoli's vote in favor of himself leaves in the air the doubt that he had perhaps not obtained the majority of approval he needed to avoid being investigated. After all, four members of the STF voted against him.
Thaméa Danelon believes that Thursday's episode marks yet another Supreme Court decision that is contrary to the fight against corruption and opens the door to new requests for annulment.
“When a decision is handed down, when an understanding is reached in the Supreme Court, a precedent is set. What we are witnessing is that the Supreme Court itself creates a lot of legal uncertainty. Look at Justice Fachin: he approved the plea bargain agreement and then went back on his word and was in favor of annulling the plea bargain. The Justice system has to provide stability to the country. It has to pacify conflicts. The Supreme Court votes in a different way each time,” he assessed. “The facts are extremely serious.
They are brought by a former governor involved in several illicit practices, where he reports that the minister had sold sentences and received millions of reais. This is extremely serious. Any judge who sells a sentence is already very serious, let alone an eventuality involving a minister of the Supreme Court. When the Supreme Court adopts the spirit of self-protection, it does not protect the institution; it weakens the Supreme Court itself.”
And he added:
“It is unacceptable that they violate the Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure. The population needs to be vigilant, the press and legal experts need to point out these flaws and irregularities. I believe it is possible to change these understandings that sometimes violate the law itself,” he said.
“This movement (to combat corruption) should come from the Legislative and Judiciary branches. And the ultimate example, which is the STF, has only issued decisions that are contrary to this purpose,” he lamented, adding that members of Parliament are afraid of impeachment of a Supreme Court minister for fear of suffering reprisals and illegal arrests. “We are in a very difficult situation,” he concluded.
