‎Brazil News

The President of the Republic Jair Bolsonaro (PL) nominated, this Monday (1/8), the federal judges Messod Azulay Neto and Paulo Sérgio Domingues for the two vacancies of minister in the Superior Court of Justice (STJ). The two will now be subject to a hearing in the Federal Senate. If approved, they will be appointed by the President of the Republic to the Court.

 

Messod Azulay Neto, from the Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region (TRF2), and Paulo Sérgio Domingues, from the Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region (TRF3), were chosen to be part of a list of four names formed by the Plenary of the STJ on 11 May. The vacancies in the court result from the retirement of ministers Napoleão Nunes Maia Filho, in December 2020, and Nefi Cordeiro, in March of last year, both from the federal judiciary.

 

In the Senate, the nominees must initially undergo a hearing and approval by the Committee on Constitution, Justice and Citizenship. After this step, there will be a vote in the plenary. Once the names are approved, the president nominates the chosen ones, who take office in a solemn session of the Plenary of the STJ.

 

 

The STJ is composed of 33 ministers. One third of the judges are chosen from among judges from the Federal Regional Courts and one third from among judges from the Courts of Justice, indicated in a list drawn up by the superior court itself.

 

The last third is chosen, in equal parts, between lawyers and members of the Public Ministry. In this case, the representative bodies of the respective classes send a sixfold list to the STJ, which is responsible for drawing up a triple list and sending it to the Executive Branch.

 

Who are the magistrates appointed to compose the STJ

Judge Messod Azulay Neto

Messod Azulay Neto is the current president of TRF2. A graduate of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, he was a public servant at Telecomunicações do Rio de Janeiro (Telerj) before joining TRF2 in 2005.

 

In court, he served for 14 years in the First Section, specializing in Criminal and Social Security Law. He also held several positions in the Federal Court, as director-general of the Cultural Center of the Federal Justice of Rio de Janeiro and coordinator of the special federal courts.

 

Messod Azulay Neto was a university professor and is a full member of the Ibero-American Institute of Public Law. He has published several books in the legal field, as well as work in specialized magazines and newsletters.

 

Judge Paulo Sérgio Domingues

Born in São Paulo, Paulo Sérgio Domingues holds a law degree from the University of São Paulo and a master's degree from the Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität, in Germany. He has been a federal judge since 1995 and became a judge of TRF3 in 2014.

 

At TRF3, he is coordinator of the Conciliation Program, coordinator of the Personal Data Protection Management Committee of the Federal Court of the 3rd Region and president of the Permanent Commission on Informatics. He also serves as a member of the working group that analyzes proposals on the procedure for lawsuits for disability pension benefits and of the Management Committee of the Electronic Judicial Process – both of the National Council of Justice.

 

Paulo Sérgio Domingues was president of the Association of Federal Judges of Brazil (Ajufe) between 2002 and 2004. He is a professor of Civil Procedural Law at the Faculty of Law of Sorocaba and author of chapters in books and articles in specialized journals.