Broad Legal Coalition Demands STF Reform, Citing Corruption and Undermined Public Trust
A manifesto by OAB-SP and 25 entities calls for judicial reform in Brazil, including term limits for Supreme Court Justices.
The São Paulo chapter of the Order of Attorneys of Brazil (OAB-SP), alongside 25 other prominent legal and civil society organizations, launched a broadside against Brazil’s top court today, publishing a manifesto that demands deep judicial reform and explicitly calls for a transparent investigation into alleged corruption at the Supreme Federal Court (STF). The unprecedented public alignment of major entities—which include the OAB sections of Rio de Janeiro and Paraná, the National Student Union, and Transparency Brazil—signals a deepening institutional crisis that threatens legal security and trust in the judiciary.
The “In Defense of Justice and for the Reform of the Judiciary” manifesto is a direct response to a perceived erosion of the court’s collegial function and a recent corruption scandal that has touched the STF directly. The group’s core demands center on curtailing the extensive power of the 11 Justices, who currently hold lifetime appointments. The proposed changes include implementing a 12-year term limit for STF ministers, raising the minimum age for appointment, and creating a formal code of conduct for magistrates.
A key area of contention is the overuse of single-judge decisions, known as monocráticas, where a single Justice can halt major legislation or release high-profile prisoners. The manifesto demands new limits on this practice, which critics argue undermines the court's required principle of collegiality and concentrates too much power in a few individuals. Adding urgency to the demands is the specific mention of the financial scandal involving former Banco Master head Daniel Vorcaro. The scandal, which investigators have called the country’s largest-ever banking fraud, has become an institutional flashpoint due to leaked communications suggesting a close and inappropriate relationship between Vorcaro and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, whose wife’s law firm had been retained by the banker. The signatories state that "crises within the court, especially in the Supreme Federal Court, risk institutional stability."
The Order of Attorneys of Brazil (OAB) holds a unique and powerful institutional position in Brazil, authorized by the Constitution to file constitutional challenges directly to the STF. By leading this charge, the OAB-SP is forcing the long-simmering national debate over the Supreme Court's power—and the lack of accountability that comes with life tenure—into a full-blown political crisis. The proposals now shift the focus to the National Congress, where any judicial reform of this magnitude would need to be approved through a Constitutional amendment.
What it touches The public confrontation between a broad, influential legal coalition and Brazil’s highest court intensifies concerns over institutional stability and political risk, factors that weigh directly on foreign investor sentiment toward the Brazilian economy. Renewed uncertainty over the country’s legal framework and the independence of its highest judiciary can pressure the Brazilian Real (USD/BRL) and create volatility for assets like the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ).