OAB: “Independence or Death”?

The author, writing after decades in legal practice, condemns what he describes as the Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association’s empty response to the current situation at the Supreme Federal Court. He says the organization should have demanded ethical conduct from the Office of the Prosecutor General and explanations from Supreme Court ministers connected to the Master case.

Instead, he argues, the OAB issued a statement that said nothing. The author calls the organization’s silence a historic and disproportionate omission, asking how links between members of the court and serious events could be disregarded and what interests prevail within the bar association.

He urges Brazil’s legal leaders to pursue the truth and demand a full investigation. He also calls for Congress to adopt measures controlling illegal practices by Supreme Court ministers, citing the “Fake News” inquiry as an example of the issues requiring oversight.

The article broadens its criticism to the way ministers are appointed. It says presidents have made highly personal choices in selecting members of the country’s highest court and argues that the 1988 Constitution should be improved to set clearer criteria for appointments and limits on time served.

The author adds that some OAB leaders are traveling in Switzerland while Brazil is calling for civil society leadership. He closes with a bitter contrast between their absence and the problems facing practicing lawyers, describing a judicial system troubled by privileges, favoritism and a Supreme Court that has lost its direction. He says lawyers are left dreaming of genuine democracy and reforms within the OAB itself.