Lewandowski will retire at the STF one month before the deadline – 03/30/2023 – Politics

The minister of the STF (Federal Supreme Court) Ricardo Lewandowski announced this Thursday (30) that he will retire on April 11, one month before the deadline for him to leave the court.

On May 11, the magistrate turns 75, age limit to remain in court.

Lewandowski participated this Thursday in his last session at the STF and then delivered a letter to Minister Rosa Weber, president of the court, announcing the date and asking her to forward the request for anticipation to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

After the request, he told the press that the measure was due to academic and professional commitments that await him, that he ends a cycle of his life and that he hopes to start another.

“I leave here with the conviction that I fulfilled my mission, my office is practically empty of processes. There are only those that are pending some dispatches of an administrative nature, but I am leaving for new journeys”, said Lewandowski, who declined to answer if he was invited to occupy one of Lula’s ministries.

The STF minister wanted to highlight, in his 33 years in the judiciary —including his period as a judge—, the defense of the fundamental rights of the accused. He said that, throughout his career as a magistrate, he has always been guided by these principles and values.

“I was a lawyer for a long time, a professor and still am. And especially in my academic life I have dedicated myself to the study and research on fundamental rights. guided by this vision, a guaranteeing vision, a vision that honors fundamental rights”, he declared.

He also highlighted having contributed to the implementation of custody hearings in the country. The procedural instrument allows that every prisoner caught in flagrante delicto must be taken to the presence of a judicial authority within 24 hours. It was implemented during the period in which the minister presided over the National Council of Justice and the STF.

“This was a civilizing advance. It is something that not only helps to avoid incarcerations that are not due and that can be treated with other penal measures of a precautionary nature, but it is also an instrument for preventing and even preventing the torture of those that are under the custody of the judge state or the police state. This is one of the initiatives that I am very proud of”, he said.

Lewandowski also said that he did not speak with Lula about who would succeed him at court and that he did not make any suggestions for names. However, behind the scenes, the minister has indicated a preference for the appointment of former STF secretary general Manoel Carlos de Almeida Neto.

“I just had the opportunity, in a very informal way, to communicate to the president the anticipation of my retirement. I didn’t have any meeting with him to discuss this matter [substituição] and of course this is an exclusive decision of the President of the Republic and I would not even dare to make any suggestion in this regard”, he said.

Afterwards, he said that his successor needs to be “faithful to the Constitution” to fundamental rights and guarantees. “And you need, first of all, to be courageous: to face the enormous pressures that a minister of the Federal Supreme Court has to face in his daily life.”

His replacement on the STF will be the prime minister appointed by Lula in his third term. Until October, the President of the Supreme, Rosa Weber, will also have to retire.

The president’s favorite is lawyer Cristiano Zanin, who acted as his lawyer in the Lava Jato Operation cases.

Asked about Zanin’s nomination, he replied generically that “all the names that are appearing as candidates are names of people with unblemished reputations and an impeccable legal career.”

“The STF will be very well served and Brazilian society too with any of the names that have appeared frequently in the media”, he said.

Lewandowski’s opinion will be important in the choice, but the president has already said that “everyone would understand” if he appointed his personal lawyer to the STF.

Supreme ministers do not have a mandate, but are obliged to retire at 75 years of age. They are appointed by the President of the Republic, reviewed by the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission) of the Senate and approved by the plenary of the House.