Fachin Gives Mendonça 72 Hours to Respond to AGU Request on PF Director’s Removal

Brazil’s Supreme Court has given Justice André Mendonça 72 hours to respond to a government request seeking to overturn his decision to remove Federal Police Director-General Andrei Rodrigues.

Chief Justice Edson Fachin issued the order after the Office of the Attorney General filed its request on Tuesday. The AGU argues that removing the Federal Police chief violated a power reserved exclusively for the president of the Republic.

Mendonça referred his decision to the court’s Second Panel, which formed a majority to validate it. The AGU filing says the premature removal, and the alleged violation of the proper legal forum, affected the organization and leadership of a senior federal body. It also temporarily restricted the president’s ability to exercise his constitutional authority to choose, retain or replace Federal Police directors.

Fachin’s order consists of two sentences. It instructs Mendonça, the rapporteur in the case, to respond within 72 hours and then directs that the case file return to the Supreme Court presidency.

Fachin will decide whether to suspend the removal and whether to keep open the investigation that Mendonça requested into the conduct of the Federal Police chief. Mendonça also sent Fachin a request for an investigation affecting Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who exchanged messages with banker Daniel Vorcaro of Banco Master. The decision adds another chapter to the dispute involving Mendonça, Moraes and the Federal Police.

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The premature removal, with a violation of the proper legal forum, produces concrete consequences for the organization and leadership of a senior body of the Federal Public Administration, temporarily restricting the president’s ability to exercise fully his constitutional authority to choose, retain or replace those who hold leadership positions within the Federal Police.