Gilmar and Fux clash during TSE session.
The discussion began during a debate on the jurisprudence of the Clean Slate Law after Minister Luiz Fux stated that any absurdity "is sanctioned by the Supreme Court and the law is what the courts say it is"; "If the Supreme Court sanctions absurdities... the Supreme Court doesn't make a square round," Gilmar retorted; "I myself will defend the insurrection against this type of jurisprudence," he added; yesterday, Fux ordered that the 10 measures against corruption return to square one in the Chamber of Deputies, due to the way they were processed; the process, however, was the same as the one that approved the Clean Slate Law.
247 - Supreme Federal Court (STF) ministers Gilmar Mendes and Luiz Fux, respectively president and vice-president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), argued during the Electoral Court session held on the morning of this Thursday (15).
This was the first session in which the two met after Fux ruled that the anti-corruption measures bill should be sent back to the Chamber of Deputies. The decision was met with public criticism from Mendes.
The discussion began during the debate in the Court's Plenary on the application of the Clean Record Law jurisprudence. Fux then discussed the possibility of absurdities arising from the jurisprudence and stated that "the absurdity is sanctioned by the Supreme Court, and the law is what the courts say it is."
Mendes interrupted his colleague: "No, no, no, minister. Absolutely not. If the Supreme Court endorses absurdities... the Supreme Court doesn't make a square circle. With all due respect. That's not a concept that can be sustained," he said. "Not even the 'Fux Code' supports that, and we cannot endorse it. And I myself will defend the insurrection against this type of jurisprudence. With all due respect," he concluded.
Watch the discussion:
Mendes took the opportunity to reiterate his criticism of how the constitutionality of the Clean Slate Law was approved. "We already had an exceptional case where a shoddy declaratory action was accepted because it didn't meet the admissibility requirements and prerequisites. There was no controversy regarding specific cases. It didn't meet the requirements. Just as Congress was pressured, we were also pressured and responded to messages from the streets. That's what happened with the Supreme Court in that case," Gilmar emphasized. He described the Clean Slate Law as "casuistic."
Fux attempted to reconcile the matter, observing that "the Clean Slate Law has its own typology, but sometimes the application of that legal provision in a specific case generates an absurd decision." The discussion ended after a request for review by TSE Minister Henrique Neves.
On Wednesday (14), Gilmar had stated in an interview with the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo that Fux's decision on the processing of the anti-corruption bill was a "Judiciary AI-5". "Better to close Congress and hand the keys to Dallagnol (prosecutor and coordinator of the Lava Jato task force, Deltan Dallagnol)".