Cristiano Zanin is Lula’s nominee for a ministerial position in the STF.| Photo: Archive/Gazeta do Povo.

The Federal Justice in Brasilia decided this Monday (5th) to deny a request made by opposition deputies to bar the act of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) who nominated lawyer Cristiano Zanin to occupy a chair in the Federal Supreme Court ( STF). The decision, handed down by judge Rolando Spanholo, was motivated by a popular action filed by federal deputies Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) and Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ).

In the petition, the parliamentarians defended the annulment of the act because they understood that Zanin is “a close friend and private lawyer of Lula”, which would violate the constitutional principles of impersonality and morality, reported Agência Brasil. Before the nomination, Zanin acted as Lula’s defender in the Lava Jato Operation processes. In the decision, the magistrate wrote that the Constitution gave the President of the Republic the prerogative to nominate ministers to the STF and did not place barriers for the nomination.

“And this is in no way altered by the fact that the President of the Republic maintains a close personal and professional relationship with lawyer Cristiano Zanin Martins. Our constitutional system does not list a list of express impediments and grants a large margin of discretion to the President of the Republic”, highlighted.

Spanholo added that Zanin needs to go through a sabbatical in the Senate to take office in the Supreme Court. “It is clear that the discretion of the President of the Republic is limited to the act of appointing. It is up to the Federal Senate (and only it) to recognize (or not) that, in fact, lawyer Cristiano Zanin Martins meets the constitutional requirements and should even occupy the vacancy of Minister of the STF”, he concluded.

Last week, Lula sent a presidential message to the Senate in which he nominated Cristiano Zanin for the vacancy that opened with the retirement of Ricardo Lewandowski. To take office in the STF, he needs to pass a sabbatical at the Senate Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) and have his name approved in a vote in the plenary of the House.