After charging the STF, courts deny irregularities in penduricalhos

In response to the STF (Supreme Federal Court), courts of Justice denied irregularities in payments for penduricalhos in the months of May and June. According to them, the cases of higher remuneration resulted from exceptional situations, such as accumulated vacations, retirements and installments excluded from the constitutional limit.

Considering all the funds authorized by the rules established by the STF, the maximum possible remuneration would reach R$78.5 thousand. Even so, there were cases of monthly payments of R$1 million.

In the explanations provided, the courts state that the payments strictly followed the parameters defined by the STF decision that limited the penduricalhos and by the rules of the CNJ (National Council of Justice).

The TJDFT (Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories), for example, reported that it acted in "strict compliance" with the thesis established by the STF and the guidelines of the CNJ. According to the Court, the largest payments recorded in the period analyzed resulted from mandatory financial settlements related to the retirement of two judges who had accumulated vacations.

The TJMA (Maranhão Court of Justice), in turn, claimed that only six cases presented payments above the established parameters. According to the Court, they all occurred in May and involved the payment of vacation bonuses and thirteenth salary, amounts that, according to the court, are exceptions to the constitutional ceiling.

The TJRJ (Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro) stated that the payrolls for April, May and June "rigorously" respected the parameters established by the Supreme Court. The Court also highlighted that compliance with STF decisions permanently guides its administrative activities and reiterated its commitment to transparency and legal certainty.

The TJRO (Court of Justice of Rondônia) argued that the court is committed to transparency and that the data available on the CNJ portal does not indicate any irregularity.

Last Monday (6), ministers of the STF ordered presidents of state courts to provide clarifications regarding news published in the press about non-compliance with the ceiling defined by the Supreme Court for the payment of "benefits".

Details were requested regarding the amounts and funds paid to each active and retired magistrate in the months of April, May, June and July of this year, with an indication of individual remuneration and compensation amounts.

The subpoena was sent to the presidents of the courts of Justice in the Federal District, Goiás, Maranhão, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte and Rondônia. Failure to meet the deadline for explanations may result in punishments of "immediate removal from the management position and criminal, civil and disciplinary liability" wrote the STF ministers.

The courts of Goiás, Paraná and Rio Grande do Norte have not yet presented explanations.

Requests for clarification came from ministers Alexandre de Moraes, Flávio Dino, Cristiano Zanin and Gilmar Mendes.

As shown by CNN Brasil, the majority of state courts of justice continue to pay magistrates salaries far above the constitutional ceiling, currently defined at R$ 46,400.

Data available on the Judiciary Remuneration Portal and analyzed by CNN Brasil show salaries reaching R$1 million. According to the rule defined by the STF, the remuneration could reach a maximum of R$ 78.5 thousand.

This Thursday, CNN also showed that state courts paid at least R$722.8 million in extra funds to judges and judges between May and June this year.

The two months are the first in which the parameters established by the STF (Supreme Federal Court) to limit the so-called "hangings" in the judiciary came into effect. The decision took effect from the base month of April, with effects on remunerations paid in May.

Source: CNN