Zema defends that the minimum age for Supreme Court ministers is 60 years old: ‘Like a Pope’

The pre-candidate for president of the Republic, Romeu Zema (Novo-MG), stated in an interview that, if elected to assume the presidency in 2027, he will try to establish the minimum age of 60 years for a new minister to be appointed to take office at the Federal Supreme Court (STF).

For him, in addition to the requirement to limit the presence of the same person in the vacancy to 15 years, assuming the seat at the Court would be equivalent to the papacy, in the Catholic Church.

“I want only those who are 60 years old or over to go to the Judiciary. This already limits their performance in the Court to 15 years. But being in the STF is the equivalent of being Pope. It has to be the crowning achievement of a long career”, he stated in an interview with the program Free Channel.

Currently, the Constitution establishes that STF ministers must be between 35 and 70 years old, in addition to having “remarkable legal knowledge” and an “unblemished reputation”. The members of the Court are appointed by the President of the Republic and their names must be approved by the Federal Senate. Since 2015, ministers have been subject to compulsory retirement at age 75.

For him, it is also necessary to change the way in which ministers are appointed. Zema believes that being in the hands of the President of the Republic “gives a lot of power to one person”. It suggests that this be done through nominations from other Courts, such as the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), the Federal Public Ministry or the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB).

“It’s a lot of autonomy for the President of the Republic. It’s becoming a fraternity with the president’s lawyer. We have a governance crisis.”