Lewandowski puts an end to hidden processing of cases in the Supreme Court.

Michèlle Canes – reporter for Agência Brasil

The president of the Supreme Federal Court, Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, signed Resolution 579/2016, which "prohibits the classification of any new or ongoing requests and cases before the Court as 'hidden'."

The resolution, which is dated Wednesday (25), still needs to be published in the Official Gazette. The information was published today (27) on the STF website.

Hidden processes are those that are not available for consultation in the court's system. The signed resolution amends another from 2007 regarding documents and processes of a confidential nature within the scope of the Supreme Federal Court (STF). In the new resolution, the minister considered that the measure addresses points such as the principle of publicity, the right of access to information, the Access to Information Law, and "the need to better regulate the classification and processing of the growing number of documents and cases of a confidential nature" that enter the Court, among other aspects.

According to the resolution, classification as hidden is prohibited. It adds that these processes should receive "the same nomenclature and identical treatment given to confidential processes, without prejudice to the determination of additional precautions by the rapporteur to guarantee the useful outcome of the decisions issued therein," the text highlighted.

The rule also stipulates that requests for arrest, search and seizure, breach of telephone, banking, tax and telematic secrecy, telephone interception and other measures "will be processed and assessed in separate files and under secrecy".

According to the text, upon receiving a petition or request marked as confidential, the Judicial Secretariat must register it with "the requested precautions," and it is up to the rapporteur to change the classification or determine other measures for the action if deemed necessary.

With this measure, it becomes possible to verify the existence of an investigation and identify those under investigation by name, in the case of non-confidential proceedings, or by initials, in proceedings that are confidential. According to the Supreme Federal Court (STF), only arrest and search warrants will not identify the names until they are executed.