Judiciary mobilizes for racial equity and studies quotas – 07/24/2023 – Power

Initiatives in Brazilian Justice have worked to overcome difficulties that prevent the inclusion and promotion of black professionals in law and that impact women in particular. In superior courts, the presence of black ministers is rare and, of black women, non-existent.

This Tuesday, July 25th, the International Day of Latin American and Caribbean Black Women is celebrated, a date created 31 years ago to give visibility to the fight against racism and sexism.

According to Karen Luise de Souza, assistant judge of the presidency of the CNJ (National Council of Justice) and supervisor of the Racial Equity program, the adoption of quotas for promotion in the Judiciary is being studied. The aim would be to ensure that women and blacks reach the summit at the same rate as white men.

For her, one of the barriers for this to happen is the imaginary that only the white man would be an impartial judge.

“We have to break with the logic that Justice means white man. In the first districts where I worked, I caused immense strangeness because nobody could conceive that I, a black woman, was Justice incarnate.”

“135 years ago, a person like me was part of the inventory, he was an asset for white people in that society. How does this thing become someone who is the representation of Justice? It’s still very difficult for people to see that”, he says.

A study carried out by the CNJ suggests an increase in the percentage of black judges. Before 2013, it was 12%. Between 2016 and 2018, it rose to 20%. In the years 2019 and 2020, it increased to 21%. However, as the research methodologies are different, the comparison is not perfect.

Karen says a new census was taken this year and the data is under review.

The CNJ also works on updating the databases of the Judiciary. A re-registration campaign ended in May and the expectation is to release updated registrations in September, during a seminar on racial issues.

“Based on the updated data, we can build judicial inclusion policies and make statistical projections. In 2020, the forecast was that it would take us 30 years to reach 20% of black men and women judges”, he says.

Another initiative is the construction of the Racial Equity Policy under construction by Fonaer (National Forum of the Judiciary for Racial Equity).

Created in March by the CNJ, in response to a demand from Enajun (National Meeting of Black Judges and Judges) and the black movement, the group brings together 18 institutions, ministries and organizations to implement actions to combat racism.

Until the end of this month, the forum will receive suggestions for a draft resolution that seeks to improve the entry, permanence and inclusion of black magistrates, in addition to creating procedures in the criminal and civil spheres and in the care of black women, children and adolescents.

Representative of the national OAB in the forum, the president of the National Commission for Women Lawyers, Cristiane Damasceno, who declares herself black, says that the councilors of the Order are studying a more effective format to guarantee diversity in the vacancies in the courts for members of the law, the so-called constitutional fifth.

“What we are looking for is the effectiveness of a black woman sitting on the court. What the institution is discussing is the best way to do this, because it is not enough to have a policy of quotas”.

She claims that the OAB is still working on rules for the adoption of hetero-identification stalls in sectional elections next year.

In 2020, in the previous management, the Order adopted quotas for women and black people for the first time. However, there were complaints of disrespect for the rules, with non-black people applying.

The stand model is also discussed by Fonaer, as well as measures to increase the participation of black professionals in contests.

“There is no lack of capacity for these people to be in these places. We need to remove obstacles and norms that are apparently neutral, but that end up favoring one group over the other”, says Souza, citing as an example the cutoff notes and barrier clauses, eliminated last year by the CNJ.

For Ana Míria Carinhanha, director of government actions at the Ministry of Racial Equality and representative of the portfolio at Fonaer, increasing representation is not an isolated action. The ministry defends the construction of a protocol for judgment from a racial perspective, as exists for gender issues.

In this service, she says that it is necessary to think about black women because they are the most harmed by the accumulation of social violence.

“Any inclusion policy aimed at black women is not only good for this woman and the black population, but for Brazilian society as a whole. It is the fastest and most effective way to make society more inclusive”, she says.

In the current composition of the STF (Federal Supreme Court), Justice Kassio Nunes Marques declares himself brown. The Supreme had three other black ministers in the history of the court, the last Joaquim Barbosa, who retired in 2014.

In April, President Lula (PT) nominated his lawyer, Cristiano Zanin, to the Supreme Court. Another vacancy will open until October, with the retirement of the President of the STF, Minister Rosa Weber. The chair was before Ellen Gracie, who in 2000 became the first woman to join the court.

Lula has avoided committing himself to a nomination profile, and among those quoted is the current attorney general of the Union, Jorge Messias. The choice of a black woman would be unprecedented.

In the STJ (Superior Court of Justice), Minister Benedito Gonçalves is the only black magistrate. The court does not have the self-declaration of its 33 members, but informs that it works to improve the register. Gonçalves is also Electoral Inspector General at the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), where he is the only black minister.

In June, after appointing André Ramos Tavares and Floriano de Azevedo Marques Neto as holders, sponsored by minister Alexandre de Moraes, Lula chose lawyer Edilene Lôbo as substitute minister of the TSE. After taking office in August, she will be the first black woman to hold the position.

The TST (Superior Labor Court) reported that Justice Lélio Bentes Corrêa is the only one who declares himself brown. In the STM (Superior Military Court) there is no record of self-declared black and brown ministers.