Mendonça declares himself fit to judge indigenous temporal framework

Minister André Mendonça, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), voted today (4) to guarantee his participation in the judgment that decides on the application of a time frame for the demarcation of indigenous lands. This Friday, the STF began the trial to find out whether or not Mendonça is able to judge the matter.

The case arose from a question of order raised by the minister himself, who asked for a review and interrupted the trial in June, when he discovered that one of the manifestations was signed by him when he was still in office as attorney general of the Union, before join the Supreme Court.

For the minister, therefore, there would be an impediment only for him to be able to vote on the specific case that took the issue to the plenary, but not on the final thesis of the trial, which has general repercussions and whose outcome serves as a parameter for all similar cases.

Voting will take place in the virtual plenary, where ministers enter their votes in the electronic system, without in-person deliberation.

The current score is 2-1 against the time frame, with Edson Fachin and Alexandre de Moraes positioning themselves against, and Nunes Marques in favor. The thesis began to be judged in 2021 for the demarcation of indigenous lands, which determines the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution as the date from which the traditional occupation of indigenous peoples is valid.

The expectation is that Mendonça will release the process for voting before the retirement of the president of the Court, Rosa Weber, in October, as she expressed an interest in voting before leaving.