Supreme Court Justice says Judiciary decides because Legislature is negligent.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux sent a strong message to Congress, stating that "the Judiciary decides because there is parliamentary omission" on issues where there is "social division," and that the Supreme Court has "a constitutional obligation to have a say on matters that the Judiciary is called upon to address." He added, "All these issues should, in fact, be resolved by Parliament. But a very peculiar situation arises. Parliament does not want to pay the social price of deciding on abortion, same-sex marriage, and other issues where we lack the institutional capacity."
247 - Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux sent a strong message to Congress, stating that "the Judiciary decides because there is omission on the part of Parliament" on issues where there is "social division," and that the Supreme Court has "a constitutional obligation to have a say on matters that the Judiciary is called upon to address."
Last week, the STF, through the 1st Panel, decided that there was no crime in the practice of abortion performed in the first trimester of pregnancy, regardless of the motivation for terminating the pregnancy. The decision opened a new precedent on the subject. This Wednesday (7), the STF will judge an action that asks for the decriminalization of abortion for women infected with the zika virus.
"There are several issues that the Judiciary does not have the institutional capacity to resolve. It's a matter completely outside the legal realm. But even so, we have to decide. And why do we have to decide? Because the population demands a solution," Fux explained.
"All these issues should really be resolved by Parliament. But a very peculiar situation arises. Parliament doesn't want to pay the social price of deciding on abortion, same-sex marriage, and other issues where we lack the institutional capacity," he added.
The minister's statements were made during the 10th National Meeting of the Judiciary, organized by the National Council of Justice, held this Monday (5).