Penteado Navarro is acclaimed upon his return to the Regional Electoral Court.
After his colleagues at the Regional Electoral Court of São Paulo decided to keep him in office, the head of the São Paulo electoral court, who had been removed by a decision of the TJ-SP (Court of Justice of São Paulo), said that "one does not thank someone for their actions."
Fernando Porfírio _247 - Amidst applause, the president of the Regional Electoral Court of São Paulo, Judge Penteado Navarro, was unanimously acclaimed in his position. Visibly moved, the head of the São Paulo electoral court said that "an act of justice is not something to be thanked for." For Navarro's six colleagues, who make up the top leadership of the TRE, there are no objective or subjective reasons or facts that justify his removal from the highest office of the TRE.
The judges decided to uphold Navarro's continued tenure, based on the opinion of Minister Nancy Andrighi, the General Inspector of Electoral Justice. She emphasized that the issue involving Navarro is a matter of an administrative-disciplinary nature, "in relation to which, by virtue of the provisions of Complementary Law 35/79 (the organic law of the judiciary), the censorial activity is restricted to the courts themselves."
Last week, the Special Body of the Court of Justice of São Paulo removed Penteado Navarro from his duties in both ordinary and electoral jurisdictions. A day later, however, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) harshly criticized the presidency of the São Paulo court for "unwarranted interference" in the Regional Electoral Court (TRE), a federal court.
In the same session of the Special Body, the panel also opened administrative proceedings against the president of the Regional Electoral Court and four other judges to investigate allegations of irregularities in the receipt of benefits, such as vacation and bonus leave.
According to the president of the São Paulo court, Judge Ivan Sartori, the removal of the president of the country's largest electoral college was "precautionary and due to potential risk to the public interest." As president of the TRE-SP (Regional Electoral Court of São Paulo), Navarro had the power to authorize the payment of benefits. "He was invested with an electoral jurisdiction dependent on the state's jurisdiction and, as president, he was the authorizing officer for expenditures. It was precisely as a secondary authorizing officer for expenditures that all these problems arose," he explained.
In addition to Navarro, the judges Tarcísio Ferreira Vianna Cotrim, Fábio Gouvea, Antônio Carlos Vianna Santos, and Roberto Valim Bellochi will also be investigated. However, only the first three are still active – Antônio Carlos died last year and Roberto Valim retired in 2009.
Between 2008 and 2010, Navarro was the president of the Budget Committee of the TJ-SP (Court of Justice of São Paulo). During this period, he authorized payments for himself, the other four judges, and employees of their respective offices in amounts exceeding 600,000 reais.
Although he clarifies that the judges and employees received what was due to them – labor credits that belonged to them – Sartori states that the problem was the authorization for only the members of the commission, the former presidents, and their employees to receive the full amount. The others received payments in monthly installments. "It became a privilege, because others received payments in installments, and they received a very high amount all at once," he said.
The president of the São Paulo court said that an order will be issued and the administrative procedure will be assigned to one of the judges. The process involves the issuance of an order, assignment, defense, instruction, and judgment in session. Any punishment for the judges could lead to compulsory retirement, one of the most severe penalties provided for in the Organic Law of the Judiciary (Lomam). "This, in theory, could also eventually lead to legal action for the loss of retirement benefits," he noted.
Sartori dismissed the hypothesis that the measure, a drastic cut to the São Paulo justice system, was intended as a message. "It was a technical, legal decision that we would make with anyone who committed this type of act," he stated. "We cannot differentiate between judges and other people who commit this type of act."