Lula signs Lewandowski’s retirement and is free to appoint a replacement at the STF – 06/04/2023 – Politics

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) edited a decree granting retirement to STF (Supreme Federal Court) Minister Ricardo Lewandowski.

The procedure is part of the procedures for the magistrate’s retirement, which was already announced for April. From now on, the representative can officially indicate the replacement for the vacancy.

The minister announced, on the 30th, that he would 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.

Lula signed Lewandowski’s retirement this Thursday, the eve of the holiday. The Supreme did not have sessions this Easter week. The next one will be on Tuesday (11), and the magistrate will no longer participate.

Lewandowski’s last participation in the STF plenary was at the end of March, when he announced that he would leave the court one month before the deadline. He 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 Lula.

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.

Lewandowski’s replacement at the STF will be Lula’s first nominee 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.

Experts say that the nomination could violate the principle of impersonality and compromise the legitimacy of the court before society, but the president has already said that “everyone would understand” if he opted for Zanin in the nomination.

After his last session at the Supreme Court, Lewandowski was also asked about a possible nomination of Zanin. “All the names that are appearing as candidates are names of people with unblemished reputations and impeccable legal careers. (…) media,” he said.