The São Paulo Court of Justice maintains a food allowance of R$ 145 million.
The benefit, retroactive to April 14, 2006, was defended by the president of the Court, Ivan Sartori, but passed narrowly, by a vote of 14 to 11, and amid protests from several judges.
Fernando Porfírio _247 - The Special Body of the Court of Justice of São Paulo decided this Wednesday (28), by a narrow majority of votes (14 to 11) to maintain the payment of food allowance to judges and magistrates of the State. The benefit will cover all 2.360 magistrates in São Paulo.
The authorization for the payment, granted through an order signed by President Ivan Sartori on Friday (23). The measure is expected to cost the public treasury R$ 145 million, since the benefit is retroactive to April 14, 2006.
The decision sparked disagreements during the hearing. Judge Ruy Coppola questioned the payment and requested its immediate suspension. He revealed, during the Special Panel session, that Sartori's decision to order the payment of the food allowance contradicted the unanimous opinion of the court's Salary Committee.
Judge Luís Soares complained about the lack of an opinion from the Salary Commission. According to Luís Soares, the document contradicted President Ivan Sartori's decision to include the payment in the payroll to be paid in April.
The most forceful protest, however, came from Judge Ruy Copola. He criticized the measure taken by the president of the São Paulo court and requested the suspension of the order authorizing the payment. "This benefit is of dubious legality," stated Ruy Coppola, referring to the food allowance payment.
According to the judge, the suspension of the ordinance was a necessary measure "so that we don't have to cancel previously granted perks later."
President Ivan Sartori reacted by saying that food allowances could not be treated as "perks." Sartori also said that although he understood that authorizing the payment was his responsibility as president, he preferred to bring the matter to the Special Body for its opinion. He also apologized for the lack of an opinion from the Salary Commission. "I didn't want to present a ready-made solution," he stated.
The food allowance for members of the Judiciary was reinstated in June of last year when, accepting a request from the magistrates' professional associations, the National Council of Justice (CNJ) issued Resolution 133, through which it returned the bonus to the class.
Sartori said that the benefit was paid in other years by the Brazilian Justice system. According to him, ministers Cezar Peluso and Carlos Ayres Britto, of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), assured that the symmetry between prosecutors and magistrates is constitutional.
Resolution 133 of the CNJ (National Council of Justice) was authored by then-councilor Felipe Locke Cavalcvanti, who was elected Attorney General of Justice of São Paulo last Saturday, the 24th. His appointment to the position, however, still depends on a decision by Governor Geraldo Alckmin.