Amid crisis at Brazil’s Supreme Court, Fachin says judiciary is ‘equal to today’s challenges’

Brazil’s Supreme Court president, Edson Fachin, said the country’s judiciary is “equal to today’s challenges” as a dispute between Justices Alexandre de Moraes and André Mendonça continues inside the court.

Speaking at a National Council of Justice event with judicial inspectors on Tuesday, Fachin called for unity around the improvement and modernization of Brazil’s justice system. He said the process should respect its past development and rely on dialogue.

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Equal to today’s challenges.

“Everyone here is seeking to improve Brazilian justice, in other words, its development and modernization, with respect for the paths already taken and through dialogue,” Fachin said. He added that current times demand permanent dialogue and a response equal to the challenges facing the country.

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Everyone here is seeking to improve Brazilian justice, in other words, its development and modernization, with respect for the paths already taken and through dialogue.

The remarks came amid disagreement over the Banco Master inquiry. Moraes supports investigating Mendonça’s conduct in the case, while Mendonça supports investigating Moraes’s conduct after the latter maintained contacts with banker Daniel Vorcaro, according to a Federal Police report.

Fachin is considering taking charge of the Banco Master and INSS investigations, which are currently assigned to Mendonça, in an effort to ease tensions at the court. He could also close the fake-news inquiry led by Moraes. Fachin said the judiciary would not fail to uphold constitutional legality and that unity could help build a court better prepared to confront urgent problems.

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I am fully convinced that the Brazilian judiciary is equal to the challenges it faces in the contemporary moment.