STF: Toffoli requests review of State-Owned Law – 03/31/2023 – Market

Minister Dias Toffoli, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), asked for a review and suspended, this Friday (31), the judgment in the virtual plenary of the court on an injunction that reduced the barriers for appointments of politicians in state-owned companies.

Minister Ricardo Lewandowski granted an injunction on March 16 to overturn the 36-month quarantine imposed on leaders of political parties or those who have acted in election campaigns so that they occupy management positions in public companies and government-controlled companies. This decision is now being evaluated by the other STF ministers in the virtual plenary.

The ban overturned by Lewandowski was imposed by the State-owned Law, approved by Congress in 2016 in the wake of corruption scandals involving Petrobras and other public companies investigated by the Lava Jato operation.

The PCdoB filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court last December questioning aspects of the law.

By the internal rules of the Supreme, Toffoli has up to 90 days to return the process to be judged again by the virtual plenary. Meanwhile, he continues to apply the injunction given by Lewandowski.

The case may have repercussions on the election, by Petrobras, of its directors scheduled to take place on April 27, if the state-owned company chooses certain directors who comply with the subsequent decision of the STF.

It is very likely that Lewandowski, the rapporteur of the action, will not participate in the conclusion of the trial, since on Thursday he announced that he will anticipate his compulsory retirement for turning 75 to April 11. His vote, however, stands.

Lewandowski had given this injunction under the allegation of “danger of delay” by ignoring, in practice, a request for a view from Minister André Mendonça when the case was initially analyzed by the virtual plenary, at the beginning of the month.

At the time, Lewandowski justified the measure on the grounds that the election of administrators and members of the board of directors of mixed capital companies is close and there might not be enough time for a decision on the case.