STF: Barroso cites scare against democracy and waves to businesspeople – 09/25/2023 – Power

On the eve of assuming the presidency of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), minister Luís Roberto Barroso spoke this Monday (25) in defense of the Constitution and made nods to the private sector.

At a business event in Rio de Janeiro, Barroso said that one of his commitments as the next president of the Supreme Court will be to deepen debates on legal security in Brazil.

In this sense, he promised efforts to break what he called “prejudice against private initiative and business success.”

“Legal security, obviously, is decisive for creating a good business environment. This is one of the commitments that the Federal Supreme Court has, and I myself will strive to deepen it during this period of my administration”, he stated.

“Including, with an effort to overcome a prejudice that clearly still exists in Brazil against private initiative, against free enterprise, against business success”, he added.

The statements were made during the opening ceremony of a conference that brings together businesspeople and executives from the insurance sector in the capital of Rio de Janeiro, Fides Rio 2023.

Barroso will be sworn in this Thursday (28) as president of the STF, a post he must maintain until 2026. He will replace minister Rosa Weber in command of the court.

In Rio, the next president of the STF said that the country had gone through “some recent scares”, but that a framework of respect for institutions and harmony between the Powers had been established.

He did not mention the name of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and the supporters who carried out episodes such as the attacks on the headquarters of the three Powers in Brasília, on January 8.

“We will have full security when we manage to complete a consensual agenda for Brazil, which I consider very important,” said the minister.

“As in all democratic countries, there are different world views, and democracy has a place for liberals, progressives, conservatives, the alternation of Power is part of life. But there are common agendas that a democratic society must seek to implement, and they are guided by the Constitution.”

Barroso cited as priorities for Brazil issues such as combating poverty, sustainable economic and social development, priority for basic education and investment in science and technology, basic sanitation and popular housing, in addition to resuming the country’s “global leadership position” in the area. environmental.

Another authority who spoke at the event in Rio was the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG). To businesspeople, Pacheco promised speed in the discussions on the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) of the Tax Reform. The text was sent to the Senate after approval in July in the Chamber of Deputies.

“The PEC simplifies the tax system, improves the business environment and strengthens the conditions for the country’s sustainable growth,” said Pacheco.

“For our part, I assure you that we are working hard in the Senate to further improve the text of the PEC and seek to expedite the vote.”

As shown by Sheet On the 24th, during his tenure as president of the STF, Barroso is also considering adopting a method in trials to increase the relevance of arguments made by lawyers and interested entities (amicus curiae) in the court’s plenary session.

The intention is that the measure will help reduce criticism, made mainly by lawyers, that the so-called oral arguments often end up being a formality and have no impact on the decision that will be taken by the judges.

In more complex processes, Barroso intends to schedule a session only for the parties to speak in the plenary, in front of the ministers. In these sessions, ministers could ask questions or make comments. Afterwards, the president of the Supreme Court would suspend the trial and resume it after about a month, so that the ministers could present their votes on the case.

The idea would be to give ministers time to “digest” the defense arguments before voting, which would reduce the impression that they had already made their decision before hearing the arguments.

One of Barroso’s challenges in his administration will be to reconcile the STF’s agenda with pressure from Congress on issues that deputies and senators consider to be the Legislative’s competence.

One of Rosa’s last measures in the Supreme Court was to schedule the start of the trial of the action that deals with the decriminalization of abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy for the virtual plenary.