From the justices we have to the justices we want: the nomination process of the STF Justices (1988-2019)

Abstract

According to the judicialization of politics perspective, Constitutional Courts have reached an important role in democracies. In the last years, the main moral dilemmas and political controversies have been challenged before these institutions. In Brazil, the Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) represents a leading institutional voice, this position is the result of constituent choices, delegations of the Legislative and of the decisional practice of the STF. However, the increase of this central role is followed by an ongoing distrust on the democratic deficit of the Constitutional Court, either from the theoretical as practice perspective. The way the Justices are selected represents one of this democratic concern. Based on that problem, we developed an empirical research on the constitutional amendment proposals in Brazil (1988/2019) that have focused on the appointment process to become a Justice in the Supremo Tribunal Federal. In conclusion, the data indicate the existence of a significant demand for other institutions to participate in the nomination process.