* composed of federal, state, and municipal courts
Requirements for Federal Judges:
- minimum age = 35
- maximum age = 65 with mandatory retirement at 70
1988 Constitution modifications:
- converted the old Federal Court of Appeals (Tribunal Federal de Recursos--TFR) into the Superior Court of Justice (Superior Tribunal de Justiça--STJ)
- created an intermediate-level Regional Federal Court (Tribunal Regional Federal--TRF) system
- federal general prosecutor given two-year renewable term (confirmation by Senate is necessary)
*cannot have the possibility of removal by president
- STF (Federal Supreme Court) can issue a warrant of injunction (mandado de injunção ) to ensure rights guaranteed by the constitution but not regulated by ordinary legislation
- STF can decide on matters of constitutionality without waiting for appeals to come through the federal courts
STF (Federal Supreme Court) facts/work:
- composed of eleven members with presidential appointment and senate approval
- solves conflicts between the executive and legislative branches, disputes among states, and disputes between the federal government and states
- rules on disputes involving foreign governments and extradition (people accused or convicted of crimes)
- issues decisions regarding the constitutionality of laws, acts, and procedures of the executive and legislative branches, warrants of injunction (warnings/orders), and writs of habeas corpus
- presents three-name lists for certain judicial-branch nominations
- conducts trials of the president, cabinet ministers, and congressional and judiciary members
TFR/STJ (Federal Court of Appeals):
- created in 1946s constitution
- initially had thirteen members but expanded to twenty-seven members in 1979
- 1988 the TFR became the thirty-three member STJ (Superior Court of Justice)
- STJ reviews decisions of the TRFs (Regional Federal Courts) and tries governors and federal judges
- president appoints its members with Senate approval on rotation
* 1/3 picked from ranks of TRF judges
* 1/3 from ranks of State Supreme Court judges
* 1/3 from ranks of state and federal public prosecutors
TRF (Regional Federal Courts):
- like appellate courts
- 1988 constitution created TRFs in Recife, Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Porto Alegre
- each TRF must have at least six judges, appointed by the president and approved by the Senate
- minimum age = 30
- maximum age = 65
- 1/5 must be from among lawyers or public prosecutors with at least ten years of professional experience
TJ (State Supreme Courts):
- each state has a State Supreme Court (Tribunal de Justiça--TJ)
- governor appoints judges to court with approval by the State Assembly (Assembléia do Estado)
- court has the right of appointing special state circuit judges to deal with land problems
- responsible for organizing and supervising the lower state courts
Overall Judicial System:
* has a series of special courts, in addition to the regular civil court system
- special courts covers the areas of military, labor, and election affairs
* needs judicial reform because current system is inefficient by having backlogs of cases (abundant of uncompleted cases/work) and not enough judges
- cases get dismissed because they are "too old" => lawyers can contribute to these backlogs by continuing cases since they are paid for how much time they spend on a case
- some judges will delay cases so they get dismissed
* only appointments to superior courts are political and need approval from legislation
Requirements for Federal Judges:
- minimum age = 35
- maximum age = 65 with mandatory retirement at 70
1988 Constitution modifications:
- converted the old Federal Court of Appeals (Tribunal Federal de Recursos--TFR) into the Superior Court of Justice (Superior Tribunal de Justiça--STJ)
- created an intermediate-level Regional Federal Court (Tribunal Regional Federal--TRF) system
- federal general prosecutor given two-year renewable term (confirmation by Senate is necessary)
*cannot have the possibility of removal by president
- STF (Federal Supreme Court) can issue a warrant of injunction (mandado de injunção ) to ensure rights guaranteed by the constitution but not regulated by ordinary legislation
- STF can decide on matters of constitutionality without waiting for appeals to come through the federal courts
STF (Federal Supreme Court) facts/work:
- composed of eleven members with presidential appointment and senate approval
- solves conflicts between the executive and legislative branches, disputes among states, and disputes between the federal government and states
- rules on disputes involving foreign governments and extradition (people accused or convicted of crimes)
- issues decisions regarding the constitutionality of laws, acts, and procedures of the executive and legislative branches, warrants of injunction (warnings/orders), and writs of habeas corpus
- presents three-name lists for certain judicial-branch nominations
- conducts trials of the president, cabinet ministers, and congressional and judiciary members
TFR/STJ (Federal Court of Appeals):
- created in 1946s constitution
- initially had thirteen members but expanded to twenty-seven members in 1979
- 1988 the TFR became the thirty-three member STJ (Superior Court of Justice)
- STJ reviews decisions of the TRFs (Regional Federal Courts) and tries governors and federal judges
- president appoints its members with Senate approval on rotation
* 1/3 picked from ranks of TRF judges
* 1/3 from ranks of State Supreme Court judges
* 1/3 from ranks of state and federal public prosecutors
TRF (Regional Federal Courts):
- like appellate courts
- 1988 constitution created TRFs in Recife, Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Porto Alegre
- each TRF must have at least six judges, appointed by the president and approved by the Senate
- minimum age = 30
- maximum age = 65
- 1/5 must be from among lawyers or public prosecutors with at least ten years of professional experience
TJ (State Supreme Courts):
- each state has a State Supreme Court (Tribunal de Justiça--TJ)
- governor appoints judges to court with approval by the State Assembly (Assembléia do Estado)
- court has the right of appointing special state circuit judges to deal with land problems
- responsible for organizing and supervising the lower state courts
Overall Judicial System:
* has a series of special courts, in addition to the regular civil court system
- special courts covers the areas of military, labor, and election affairs
* needs judicial reform because current system is inefficient by having backlogs of cases (abundant of uncompleted cases/work) and not enough judges
- cases get dismissed because they are "too old" => lawyers can contribute to these backlogs by continuing cases since they are paid for how much time they spend on a case
- some judges will delay cases so they get dismissed
* only appointments to superior courts are political and need approval from legislation