The president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, said this Thursday (1st) that criticisms about the participation of Court ministers in events sponsored by businessmen who have cases pending in the court are “unfounded”.
The defense of the trips was made during a speech given at the opening of this afternoon’s session and was motivated by the publication of successive news articles that contested the ministers’ presence at private events. In general, participation in seminars abroad involves paying the ministers’ expenses for airfare and accommodation.
For Barroso, the criticisms reveal “prejudice against private initiative and entrepreneurship.”
“This idea that participating in events with businesspeople is an ethical problem is a mistake. Things that are ethically wrong, if they had to happen, would not happen at conferences with 2,000 people,” he said.
The president also stated that there is no link between the ministers’ participation in the events and the decisions handed down by the Supreme Court.
“When a judge gives a speech at an event, it is not a benefit for the minister, we are doing him a favor, a kindness, a favor. It is wrong to think that the minister is the one in debt. The minister is the creditor of the effort of participating in an event,” he added.
Barroso also assured that the STF is a transparent court.
“No court in the world is more transparent than the Supreme Federal Court. We deliberate in front of the television, everyone can watch what we are doing. No decision is made in a room out of sight of anyone. We have a Transparency Portal with all the expenses that are made here,” he concluded.
