Lula places his private lawyer in the Brazilian Supreme Court with the broad support of the Senate

The Senate Brazilian approved this Wednesday the candidacy of the lawyer Christian Zanin to occupy a seat on the Supreme Court, amid criticism for his close relationship with the president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvawhom he defended in court in corruption cases filed today.

The plenary of the High camera supported, by a large majority of 58 votes in favor and 18 against, the name of Zanin, proposed by Lula himself by constitutional imperative to be one of the eleven magistrates of the country’s highest judicial instance.

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Zanin, 47 years old and specialized in business and criminal litigation, will be able to serve as a Supreme Court judge for almost thirty years, until he turns 75.

To the senators, including several allies of the far-right Jair Bolsonaro Those who voted in favor were convinced by his guarantee profile, his commitment to the Constitution and his commitment to strengthening harmony between the powers.

Before the deliberation in plenary, Zanin appeared for eight hours in the Constitution and Justice Commission of the Senate, which also declared him fit in a comfortable way (21-5).

“I am not going to change sides, it was always the same, that of the Constitution, the guarantees and the broad right of defense in due legal process. The other is barbarism and abuse of power”, he stated in his speech.

Lawyer and friend of Lula

Zanin gained national and international notoriety since he defended Lula in multiple corruption processes related to the Operation Lava Jatowhich also investigated a large number of parliamentarians.

In 2021, a “habeas corpus” of his authorship caused the Supreme Court to annul the sentences imposed on the progressive leader. That failure, key in the recent history of Brazilallowed him to run in the 2022 elections, in which he defeated Bolsonaro.

His long and close coexistence with the current head of state was one of the objections raised by opposition senators.

To dispel any suspicion, Zanin guaranteed that he will act with “independence” and “impartiality”, as he did, as he stressed, in his almost 25-year career in law, most of them in the private sector.

But “I will never deny my relationship with Lula, on the contrary, I am grateful to the president for having proposed my name to the Supreme”, he pointed out when answering a question from Senator Sergio Morowho in his time as a judge convicted and imprisoned Lula.

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The face to face between Zanin and Moro was one of the most anticipated moments of the session, after both faced each other in court during the Lava Jato processes.

Lula’s lawyer, in fact, did not miss the opportunity to remember that his former client “He was acquitted in various instances”, due to “a structural failure” of competences and for “the absence of an impartial judge”, alluding to More.

Moro later warned in plenary session that “someone so close to the president” is “a risk to the independence of the Supreme”.

Drugs, abortion and indigenous

Even so, the interrogation in the Senate committee proceeded in a respectful climate to the point of the senator Flavio Bolsonaroson of the far-right leader, praise his guarantee profile.

Zanin was also questioned several times on issues that polarize the country, such as the right to abortion, the fight against drugs, homosexual marriage or the recognition of new indigenous lands, although he tiptoed through all of them.

He indicated that drugs are “an evil that needs to be fought”, although at the same time he supported legislative initiatives that seek to reduce the alarming number of prisoners for possession of small amounts of illegal substances.

He also praised the right to life, but stressed that there is a regulation “consolidated” for the voluntary termination of pregnancy.

“The Supreme does not have the role of legislating”, he asserted.

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He also stated that “will make every effort to reconcile, in the best possible way” conflicts between demands to expand indigenous lands and the interests of private landowners.

Zanin was postulated by Lula to occupy the position of the retiree Ricardo Lewandowski. The president will still have to choose a second candidate for the Supreme Court this year to replace Rose Weberwho will also leave the court when he turns 75.

By then only one woman will remain among the eleven magistrates of the court.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.