Brazil’s Supreme Court gets a new chief justice

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.

Most Brazilian justices frequently...