Joaquim Benedito Barbosa Gomes (; born October 7, 1954) is a former Justice of the
Supreme Federal Court in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. He served as the president of the court (Chief Justice) between 2012 and 2014.
Barbosa studied law at
University of Brasília
The University of Brasília ( pt, Universidade de Brasília, UnB) is a federal public university in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. It was founded in 1960 and has since consistently been named among the top five Brazilian universities and the ...
(1979) and holds a master's degree (1990) and a doctorate (1993) from
Panthéon-Assas University.
[Doctorate](_blank)
/ref> He is a Doctor Honoris Causa of Hebrew University (2015).
In 2013, he was elected by ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Early life and education
Barbosa is the oldest son of a bricklayer father and a housewife
A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying an ...
mother.[''VEJA'' magazine, ed. 2024, p. 57 ''(in Portuguese)''.] He started his education in the Brazilian public school system in his hometown, later completed in Brasília
Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
.[STF website ''curriculum vitae''](_blank)
'(in Portuguese)''. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
He worked as a cleaner and typesetter before attending law school at the University of Brasília
The University of Brasília ( pt, Universidade de Brasília, UnB) is a federal public university in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. It was founded in 1960 and has since consistently been named among the top five Brazilian universities and the ...
[''The Huffington Post''](_blank)
Retrieved November 23, 2012.
Barbosa studied law at University of Brasília
The University of Brasília ( pt, Universidade de Brasília, UnB) is a federal public university in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. It was founded in 1960 and has since consistently been named among the top five Brazilian universities and the ...
(1979). He holds a Master (1990) and a Doctor (1993) of Laws from DEA - Droit Public Interne - Panthéon-Assas University.
Early career
After graduating from the University of Brasila, Barbosa began working for the Brazilian diplomatic service, Itamaraty, as a chancery official. His first assignment was to Helsinki, Finland.
Barbosa was a member of the Federal Public Ministry and Adjunct Professor at Rio de Janeiro State University. He was also a visiting scholar at the Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...
, in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
(1999 to 2000), and at UCLA School of Law
The UCLA School of Law is one of 12 professional schools at the University of California, Los Angeles. UCLA Law has been consistently ranked by '' U.S. News & World Report'' as one of the top 20 law schools in the United States since the inception ...
(2002 to 2003).
Along with his position at Itamaraty, he served as a public servant for some Brazilian departments, and lately as a public prosecutor
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...
of the Public Ministry.
Aside from his academic achievements, Minister Barbosa also became fluent in French, Spanish, English and German.
Supreme Federal Court
Barbosa was appointed to the office by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party ...
on June 25, 2003, along with Ayres Britto and Cezar Peluso.
Justice
Among many other actions, he is the ''judge rapporteur'' for Criminal Action 470 [Spreadsheet with Min. Joaquim Barbosa actions pending](_blank)
''from STF website (in Portuguese)'' Retrieved November 27, 2012. (also known as Mensalão scandal
The Mensalão scandal ( pt, Escândalo do Mensalão, ) was a major parliamentary vote-buying scandal by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration that threatened to bring down his government in 2005. ''Mensalão'' is a neologism, a variant of ...
) and his further development, the Criminal Action 536 (also known as Mensalão mineiro).[''Diário do Comércio'' website](_blank)
''(in Portuguese)''. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
As of November 2012, he has 8,460 actions under his responsibility being processed by the Court.
Barbosa suffers from sacroiliitis
Sacroiliitis is inflammation within the sacroiliac joint. It is a feature of spondyloarthropathies, such as axial spondyloarthritis (including ankylosing spondylitis), psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis or arthritis related to inflammatory b ...
, an inflammatory disease, which notably makes it uncomfortable for him to remain seated. Barbosa has often been noted for his practice of attending session while standing up.[''VEJA'' magazine, ed. 2290, p. 78 ''(in Portuguese)''.]
President
He took the office as the acting president of the court on November 17, 2012, because of the mandatory retirement of his colleague Ayres Britto, as he was the current vice-president of the Court.[STF News](_blank)
''(in Portuguese)''. Retrieved November 19, 2012. However, he was already the President Elect of the Court as chosen by his fellows in October 2012, keeping the tradition the oldest member not served yet as president to be elected to that position.
Barbosa demonstrates unconditional defense in some questions. He is against the power of prosecutors to file administrative investigations. He argues about transfer the competency to hear cases on slave labor to federal court. Barbosa opposes also the privileged forum for authorities. His tenure start on November 22, 2012 was attended by President Dilma Rousseff
Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil, holding the position from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the first ...
, Senate President José Sarney
José Sarney de Araújo Costa (; born José Ribamar Ferreira de Araújo Costa; 24 April 1930) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and writer who served as 31st president of Brazil from 1985 to 1990. He briefly served as the 20th vice president of ...
, among many other celebrities.[O Estado de S. Paulo, November 23, 2012, p. A6.]
The welcoming speech has been delivered by Justice Luiz Fux
Luiz Fux (; born 26 April 1953) is a Brazilian judge and the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Federal Court. He is of Romanian Jewish descent, and the first Jewish Brazilian member of the Court. He was previously a minister of the Superior ...
.[O Estado de S. Paulo, November 23, 2012, p. A8.]
Key positions
Demonstrates unconditional defense in certain administrative matters. It is against the power of the prosecutor to file administrative inquiries, or to preside police investigations. It argues that transfer the jurisdiction to hear cases of slave labor for the federal Justice. Takes the view that dispatching with lawyers should be an exception, and never a routine, to the ministers of the Supreme. Restricts the most of your attention to parts of lawyers, understanding that this liberality of the judge can not lead to inequality. The minister's position, however, is criticized by lawyers and the Bar Association of Brazil (OAB), on the grounds that dispatching with the magistrates is a right of lawyers, conferred by Law 8.906 / 94, whose art. 7, section VIII precepts to be right lawyers, "go directly to the magistrates in the rooms and work offices, regardless of previously scheduled time or another condition, observing the arrival order" The Minister Barbosa says is also against the alleged preferential jurisdiction providing the parties with greater purchasing power ("jump the queue"). The minister's stance has also been criticized for OAB, on the grounds that sometimes emergency situations really justify the reversal of the judgment order. Barbosa opposes also the privileged forum for authorities.
Controversy
The Panama Papers revealed that the former Supreme Court judge paid $335,000 in cash for a condo in Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
. The judge denied any wrongdoing.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbosa, Joaquim
1954 births
Living people
Afro-Brazilian people
Supreme Federal Court of Brazil justices
People from Minas Gerais
21st-century Brazilian judges
Columbia Law School faculty
Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University alumni
Rio de Janeiro State University faculty
People named in the Panama Papers