Judiciary salaries and trinkets cost R$95 billion in 6 years

The cost of the Judiciary was a topic raised by the president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) at the end of February. A blog survey shows that salaries, compensation and other trinkets cost R$95 billion in the last six and a half years. Before that, it was darkness. It was not possible to systematize these numbers. Today, we know that “subsidies”, or salaries, consumed R$56 billion. The eventual rights, plus R$29 billion. Personal rights, R$2.4 billion. Compensations – health benefits, food, housing, birth, pre-school – totaled over R$7 million.

On February 25, the president of the STF, Roberto Barroso, stated, in an article published in Folha de São Paulo: “How much the Judiciary costs is not an irrelevant question. But the correct question may be another: how much is the Judiciary worth?”

The numbers released by the National Council of Justice (CNJ) reveal millionaire payments. Among the eventual rights, retroactive payments stand out, totaling R$6.6 billion, and vacation compensation, plus R$4.4 billion. Most of the retroactive payments resulted from the late payment of remuneration equivalence funds between magistrates and members of the National Congress

Retroactives and “holiday sales”

The Minas Gerais Court of Justice (TJMG) alone paid R$1.6 billion in retroactive payments over six years. The São Paulo Court of Justice (TJSP), R$ 1.46 billion. The Court of Justice of Paraná (TJPR) paid R$638 million in retroactive payments and R$498 million in vacation compensation. With the right to 60 days of vacation, it is common to “sell” vacations. As it is compensation, there is no discount on Income Tax or Social Security. The money lands cleanly in the magistrate’s account. The TJSP paid R$1.15 billion in vacation compensation in six years. (See below, list of the biggest expenses)

Compensation expenses are also considerable. The TJSP, the largest court, with 360 magistrates, paid R$362 million in pre-school aid in six and a half years, plus R$256 million in health aid. TJMG paid R$354 million in health aid and R$347 million in “holiday bonus compensation”. The court explained that “holidays not taken, whether premium or regular, are compensated, which justifies their budget classification”.

These data are released today by the National Council of Justice (CNJ), based on the payrolls of 90 courts. Previously, each court published its salaries on its own website, in different formats. Many of the spreadsheets were in PDF, which made totalization difficult. Data unification occurred in August 2017. The largest expenditures were from TJSP: R$14.3 billion. TJMG spent R$7.5 billion; the TJPR, 5.3 billion; the TJRJ, 5 billion; the TJRS, 4.7 billion.

The biggest “hangings”

The biggest “bolts” of retroactive payments occur at TJMG. At least 30 magistrates accumulated retroactive payments in amounts above R$3 million. Retired judge Lúcio Silva Martins received a total of R$3.86 million in retroactive payments. Murilo José Pereira, another retired judge, received R$3.78 million. The court stated that “equivalence payments are made in accordance with court decisions, in accordance with budgetary and financial availability”.

At TJSP, retired judge Antônio Paulilo accumulated R$1.38 million in retroactive payments, plus R$154 thousand in vacation compensation. Egídio Giacoia, a retired judge, received R$1.13 million in retroactive payments and R$122 thousand in vacation compensation.

The “ballots” don’t just happen in big courts. At the Rondônia Court of Justice, judge Paulo Kiyochi Mori received R$1.43 million in retroactive pay and R$967,000 in vacation compensation. Judge José Ribeiro da Luz received R$1.38 million in retroactive pay and the same amount in vacation compensation.

TJs defend late payments and vacations

TJPR stated to the blog that, in its more than 132 years of existence, “it has always honored the mission of serving the people of Paraná, fulfilling and enforcing the country’s Constitution and Laws, facing labor liabilities according to its budget and guidelines from the bodies of control, including the CNJ”.

The Court of Justice of Rio Grande do Sul (TJRS) stated that payments of the Parcela Autónoma de Equivalência (PAE) were finalized in December 2022. “From the year 2017 until the finalization of the payment, 108 million were allocated and there is no more no pending issues to be settled regarding the PAE. We also inform that all retroactive funds owed and paid to magistrates and civil servants are expressly authorized by the CNJ”.

The TJRS added that the compensation resulting from the conversion of vacations into money for magistrates and civil servants is exclusively from expired vacation periods. “These are vacations that are due and not taken, due to the absolute need for service and the imperative continuity of service provision. We base our actions on respect for the public treasury, in a transparent manner, supported by austere administrations.”

The most expensive courts