Dino ends retirement as punishment for judges and opens the way for “dismissal”
Federal Supreme Court (STF) minister Flávio Dino decided this Monday (16) that magistrates punished for serious disciplinary violations should be subject to loss of position and remuneration, and no longer to compulsory retirement.
The determination was directed to the National Council of Justice (CNJ), responsible for administrative control of the Judiciary.
In the decision, Dino stated that compulsory retirement is no longer an appropriate sanction for more serious disciplinary cases. Historically considered the maximum punishment applied to judges, the measure removed the judge from office, but maintained the proportional payment of his retirement.
The minister highlighted that this model became incompatible with the accountability system provided for in the Constitution after recent legislative changes.
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Change after constitutional amendment
According to Dino, an amendment approved in 2019 removed the possibility of applying compulsory retirement as a disciplinary punishment.
“It no longer makes sense for judges to be immune from an effective system of disciplinary responsibility, with the repudiated and already revoked ‘punitive compulsory retirement’”, wrote the minister.
In his opinion, when there are more serious infractions, the appropriate measure becomes loss of position.
“Serious cases, in light of the Constitution, must be punished with the loss of the position, which, due to its lifetime, depends on legal action”, stated Dino in the decision.
Role of the CNJ and the STF
The minister also established how the procedure should work in these cases. If the CNJ concludes that a magistrate should lose his position, the administrative decision must be taken to the Federal Supreme Court.
The action must be presented to the STF by the Attorney General’s Office (AGU), which represents the CNJ in court.
Dino also determined that, if the initial decision to lose his position is taken by a court, the process must be forwarded to the CNJ before proceeding for analysis by the Supreme Court.
The decision was taken during the trial of a lawsuit filed by a judge removed from the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice (TJ-RJ).
The judge sought to annul CNJ decisions that had determined his compulsory retirement following disciplinary proceedings.
The decision applies to court magistrates in general, including ministers of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), but does not apply to the Federal Supreme Court itself.
