Former director of the Supreme Federal Court Carlos Ayres Britto defended the implementation of an Ethics Code as a response to the image crisis faced by the Court, whose most tense moment occurred with the confrontation between ministers Alexandre de Moraes and André Mendonça. Ayres Britto, who presided over the court for ten years, stated that the document should provide legal grounding for decisions to be made, detailing what is permitted or not to the members of the Court.
The adoption of an ethics code is defended by the president of the STF, Edson Fachin, who assigned the task of drafting the terms of the document to minister Cármen Lúcia. Ayres Britto declared to GLOBO that this is the appropriate moment to discuss the issue, highlighting that "modesty begins with stripping away, transparency and visibility."
The jurist raised the central question about who controls the Supreme Court, since the Court is responsible for controlling the other two branches of government, the Executive and the Legislative. According to him, the Ethics Code serves precisely so that the controller "cuts into its own flesh when necessary," meaning that the court itself must have mechanisms for self-regulation and accountability.
Ayres Britto avoided commenting directly on the specific conflict between ministers Alexandre de Moraes and André Mendonça, preferring to focus on the need for a general instrument of ethical conduct for the entire Court.
