'Can someone under investigation appoint another investigator?', says legal expert.
The nomination of a replacement for Minister Teori Zavascki, who died in a plane crash, by Michel Temer is being criticized by several jurists and legal professionals; "The problem is: can the investigated party appoint the investigator? Can the Senate and Temer, who are mentioned in plea bargains, appoint who will investigate them?", questions Joaquim Falcão, professor of Law at FGV-RJ and specialist in the actions of the Supreme Court; for Rubens Glezer, professor of Law at FGV-SP and coordinator of the Supremo em Pauta project, the measure could reduce confidence in the Supreme Court.
247 - Michel Temer's nomination of a replacement for Minister Teori Zavascki, who died in a plane crash, is being criticized by several legal experts and professionals.
"The problem is: can the person under investigation appoint the investigator? Can the Senate and Temer, who are mentioned in the plea bargains, appoint who will investigate them?" asks Joaquim Falcão, a law professor at FGV-RJ and specialist in the workings of the Supreme Federal Court (STF). "There are two appointments to be made at this moment: one is the new minister, which will be made by Temer and approved by the Senate. The other is who will be the rapporteur for Lava Jato, which Cármen Lúcia (current president of the Supreme Court) will have to decide," he explains to BBC Brasil.
According to Rubens Glezer, a law professor at FGV-SP and coordinator of the Supremo em Pauta project, the measure could reduce confidence in the Supreme Court. "Allowing an interim government to nominate a Supreme Court justice who only needs to retire at 75 and needs to be approved by a Senate that is highly implicated in Operation Lava Jato leaves the Supreme Court susceptible to a loss of public confidence and a very high risk of political manipulation," Glezer told BBC Brasil.
Beyond Lava Jato, Joaquim Falcão says that the death of Teori Zavascki leaves two other important challenges for the Supreme Federal Court: unity and impartiality. "The Supreme Court is fragmented into 11 Supreme Courts. It is necessary to put a replacement (for Zavascki) there who will help unite the magistrates. When US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsberg was nominated, it was for her ability to unite factions," he says.
When speaking of fragmentation, Falcão is referring to the fact that the percentage of individual decisions in the Supreme Federal Court (STF) has increased in relation to collective decisions, which are made in plenary sessions or in panels of five justices.
Read the report From BBC Brazil on the subject.