Moraes predicts turbulent years ahead for Supreme Court - Valor International

Justice Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil’s Supreme Court said on Wednesday (1) that the court’s new two-year term will be marked not only by hard work but also by “turbulent” days in both the national and international arenas. On Monday (29), Edson Fachin assumed the position of chief justice, with Justice Moraes sworn in as his deputy.

“It will be two years of a lot of work, two turbulent years, as we can see from the national and international scenario. But the Supreme Court will face them with independence, dignity and competence,” Justice Moraes said at the opening of Wednesday’s session, the first presided over by Mr. Fachin.

The court has come under scrutiny from the United States in recent months over the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro, sentenced to more than 27 years for attempting a coup d’état. The U.S. government has claimed that Mr. Bolsonaro is a victim of judicial persecution. Justice Moraes himself was targeted by the Magnitsky Act, which allows for financial sanctions.

Justice Moraes said the Supreme Court would be “in excellent hands” under Justice Fachin’s leadership. “I am greatly satisfied and proud to serve as vice president alongside Your Excellency,” he said.

He also praised Luís Roberto Barroso, who stepped down as chief justice on Monday. “I also want to acknowledge our former chief justice, who guided us through a difficult period, but one of institutional strengthening. I want to thank him for his defense of the judiciary.”

Justices Fachin and Moraes will serve as chief justice and deputy chief justice until 2027. This term will oversee the conclusion of trials related to the coup plot, which are under Justice Moraes’s rapporteurship in the court’s First Panel.

On Tuesday (30), a day after taking office, Justice Fachin met with representatives of higher courts, appellate courts, and the National Justice Council (CNJ), which he now also chairs. At the meeting, he announced the proposal to create an Observatory of Integrity and Transparency, aimed at monitoring misconduct within the judiciary.

Another item on the agenda was the creation of a National Network of Criminal Judges to deal with organized crime, an initiative Justice Fachin had already signaled in his inauguration speech on Monday.

For his first plenary session as court leader, held on Wednesday, Justice Fachin chose to hear cases on the employment relationship between drivers and app-based platforms. One of them, dealing with so-called “uberization,” is under his rapporteurship. The decision will serve as a precedent on the issue across the judiciary.

The two labor cases challenge lower-court rulings that recognized drivers’ employment status and required platforms to comply with labor law. For now, the court will only hear oral arguments from the parties and statements from amici curiae.

Justice Fachin’s first week at the helm of the court also includes other cases with major social impact. One concerns the boundaries of the Jamanxim National Park in Pará.

This article was translated from Valor Econômico using an artificial intelligence tool under the supervision of the Valor International editorial team to ensure accuracy, clarity, and adherence to our editorial standards. Read our Editorial Principles.