Gilmar formalizes proposal to bar Federal Police and military personnel from Supreme Court chambers

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes has formally submitted a proposal to keep police officers and military personnel out of the court's chambers, with one narrow exception for security work.

The proposed amendment to the Supreme Court's internal rules would cover Federal Police officers, members of the Federal Highway Police, civil, military and prison police forces, firefighters, military personnel and employees from other public careers. Those appointed to security positions could remain, but the text expressly bars them from participating in investigations or proceedings and from providing legal advice.

The proposal also calls for the court's president to arrange the "immediate return" of personnel from those careers who currently work in justices' chambers in violation of the rule. The measure still needs consideration by the Rules Committee, a permanent body that reviews administrative matters and proposes changes to the court's regulations. The committee is chaired by Justice Luiz Fux and includes Alexandre de Moraes and Kassio Nunes Marques. Flávio Dino serves as an alternate member. The full court would then have to approve or reject the measure in an administrative session.

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immediate return

Folha de S.Paulo reported that Gilmar, the court's longest-serving justice, had advocated the Federal Police ban since tensions intensified between Justice André Mendonça and the police force's leadership. The issue gained momentum after Mendonça, the rapporteur in the Master case, lifted the secrecy on conversations between former banker Daniel Vorcaro and Alexandre de Moraes.

The Supreme Court's transparency portal lists six Federal Police delegates assigned to the court: two with Mendonça on the Master and INSS cases, two with Moraes, one listed in Fux's chamber and another in security. Fux says he has no delegates on his team. The court attributed the listing to a technical inconsistency in its personnel system and said it had corrected the information. The portal also lists a Federal District civil police officer assigned to Mendonça's chamber and a Maranhão military police officer working with Dino. It lists no armed forces personnel currently assigned to the court, although such appointments have occurred before, including General Ajax Porto Pinheiro's appointment as a special adviser to then-President Dias Toffoli in 2018.

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barred from participating in the instruction of investigations or proceedings and in legal advisory activities