Rosa Weber says that CNJ could have gone further in terms of parity – 09/28/2023 – Frederico Vasconcelos

The consensus reached by the CNJ (National Council of Justice), last Tuesday (26), to try to reduce gender inequality in the Judiciary was defined as a “historic moment”. For some advisors, there was a “gigantic paradigm shift” and a “civilizing advance”.

President Rosa Weber and rapporteur Salise Sanchotene welcomed suggestions from judge Richard Pae Kim, from TJ-SP. It was the way to avoid the risk of not obtaining a unanimous decision.

The board could have gone further, as suggested in the original proposal. In the end, Weber reproduced the assessment of some counselors: “We could have gone further.”

Weber used the Parity in the Judiciary movement button.

Kim presented himself as the son of immigrants, Korean, with 30 years on the bench, with no prospect of being promoted to judge in the next eight years. He said that his wife, a TJ-SP judge, also has no plans to become a judge.

“Everyone here has the legitimacy to decide on this issue,” he stated.

Kim said it was very difficult to disagree with Salise’s vote. He repeated some observations from the Technical Note of the São Paulo Court of Justice.

“Some legal obstacles are insurmountable,” he said. Regarding promotion by seniority, she stated that there does not seem to be room for an exclusive list for women.

“I vote to reject the normative proposal at this point.”

Kim opened a window by stating that, if there is unconstitutionality in the seniority criterion, the same constitutional obstacle to promotions based on merit does not exist.

“Although I have doubts about its elements, I will follow the noble rapporteur’s vote, for the reasons I will describe, without, however, noting some concerns”, he said.

Kim stated in the vote that studies must continue. It went further. She said that the debate on gender affirmative policies must also be guided by the particularities of the career and its implications for the independence, impartiality and efficiency of the Judiciary.

The judge stated that “there is no specific diagnosis formally prepared by the CNJ with the support of the courts and associative entities on the reasons why women were unable to ascend in sufficient numbers to guarantee parity within the scope of state and regional courts.”

Salise countered. She cited as an example a survey conducted by the CNJ, in partnership with the National School of Judiciary and the AMB (Association of Brazilian Magistrates).

Librans and Arians

The rapporteur announced to the president that she would reformulate her vote, removing the issue of promotion based on seniority. “As Your Excellency is a Libra, a supporter of consensus, I will make the correction,” she said.

Salise suggested that Weber consult the collegiate.

As the rapporteur accepted Pae Kim’s divergence, apparently there was no room left for rejecting the proposed solution. Rosa said that she intended to fully adhere to Salise’s vote, and that she saw a “very attentive male gaze” in Kim’s vote.

Inspector Luís Felipe Salomão praised Salise and Kim and the creation of a public policy instituted in the council for the capacity for dialogue.

Luiz Phillippe Vieira de Mello Filho said that, as an Arian, he previously held a tough debate with some advisors. “It’s part of my temperament.”

“I don’t have the legitimacy to speak on behalf of women,” he said. But she read a text from a judge about the difficulties faced by female judges in thriving in their careers.

“Not wanting to distance myself from the collective agreement, I emphasize my understanding: we could have gone much further so that they could also go further,” said Vieira de Mello.

Mauro Martins stated that he was “very happy with the solution”. He said “research demonstrates the discriminatory treatment women face.”

“Affirmative action is necessary, and the CNJ is the appropriate forum. Being unanimous, the decision sends a much better message to society and the Judiciary.”

Jane Granzoto, TRT-2 judge, said that her court has had a female majority for many years. She considered the construction to be extremely relevant, because it was not imposed.

She complimented Kim for “the lights that brought us to this built solution.”

Márcio Freitas followed Vieira de Mello’s line. “The consensus has already been conceived. But I resented the timidity of the proposal. We had to seriously discuss the racial gap.” He criticized the selectivity that exists in high school. But he understands that there was “a gigantic paradigm shift”.

Councilor Giovanni Olssen, regional Labor judge, agreed that this was a “historic moment”.

“But we are debating the tip of an iceberg.”

“We have to talk about the first degree, improve the working conditions of the first degree, make conditions less inhospitable. More than 90% of the processes are in the first degree.”

“It’s where women accumulate resignations,” he said.

The strong reaction against the original proposal came from Consepre (Council of Presidents of Courts of Justice), mostly made up of men (of the 27 presidents of state courts, 6 are women) and trade associations.

In a comment on the blog, a judge from the parity movement saw the trial as “the pact of masculinity”. Faced with the threat of advancing women’s rights, men put their differences aside to form an alliance that guarantees the maintenance of their privileges, she says.

She remembers that it is the judges who decide whether there will be budgetary allocation for the domestic and family violence courts, whether the forums will have adequate spaces for breastfeeding, whether or not programs will be implemented to combat harassment of employees and support pregnant women.

These decisions are mostly made by white men. The pact of masculinity remains strong in deciding the direction of the Judiciary and therefore, to a large extent, of Brazilian society, he says.