Politics

Brazil’s Supreme Court gets a new chief justice

A discreet former labor judge, Justice Rosa Weber is expected to have a different working style to her most recent predecessors at the head of the Supreme Court

Luiz Fux (left) steps down as Chief Justice of Brazil's Supreme Court to become an associate justice. Rosa Weber takes his place. Photo: Roberto Jayme/Ascom/TSE
Luiz Fux (left) steps down as Chief Justice of Brazil’s Supreme Court to become an associate justice. Rosa Weber takes his place. Photo: Roberto Jayme/Ascom/TSE

Supreme Court Justice Rosa Weber will take over this Monday as chief justice of Brazil’s highest judicial authority — the third woman ever to hold the office.

In Brazil, chief justices serve two-year terms. It is tradition, although not codified in law, to always elect the most senior justice who has not yet served as the 11-member court’s president.

Justice Weber was nominated to the Supreme Court in 2011 by then-President Dilma Rousseff after serving for years as a labor judge. She will not serve a full term as chief justice because she turns 75 in October 2023, when she will be forced to retire under Brazilian law.

As the chief justice, Rosa Weber will have power over the court’s agenda and will also be responsible for emergency rulings when the court is in recess. 

Justice Weber is a rare kind in the Supreme Court: she has not  granted a single interview since taking office. She’s also not prone to hosting politicians at her house, as colleagues Cármen Lúcia and Dias Toffoli have done.

Chief Justice Weber has become famous for her discreet antics and for "only speaking through court records." Photo
Justice Weber has become famous for her discretion and for “only speaking through court records.” Photo: TSE/Flickr

Most Brazilian justices frequently...

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