Luiz Fux (; born 26 April 1953) is a Brazilian

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

and the former Chief Justice of the

Supreme Federal Court The Supreme Federal Court ( pt, Supremo Tribunal Federal, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the Constitutional Court of the country. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for con ...

. He is of Romanian Jewish descent, and the first

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member of the Court. He was previously a minister of the Superior Court of Justice before assuming his position at the Supreme Court.

Legal career

After graduating from the law school of the then-State University of Guanabara (now

State University of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ; pt, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro) is a public research university in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is one of the largest and most prestigious universities in the country. The universi ...

) in 1976, Fux first served as an in-house counsel for Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda. until 1978. From 1978 until 1982 he served as a prosecutor for the . In 1983, Fux shifted his career to the Judiciary of the State of Rio de Janeiro as a judge of law, having achieved first position overall in the competitive

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. He was promoted by merit to the position of judge of law of the ''Entrância Especial'', having been holder of the 9th Civil Court of the State of Rio de Janeiro. He served as electoral judge in the 13th Electoral Zone and 25th Electoral Zone in Rio de Janeiro. He was later promoted by merit to the position of judge of the Court of Jurisdiction of the State of Rio de Janeiro. In 1997, Fux was promoted to Magistrate of the , where he remained until 2001.

Career in the STJ

In 2001, Fux was chosen by then-

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Fernando Henrique Cardoso Fernando Henrique Cardoso (; born 18 June 1931), also known by his initials FHC (), is a Brazilian sociologist, professor and politician who served as the 34th president of Brazil from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 2002. He was the first Brazi ...

to occupy the position of Justice (''ministro'') of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) as the third judge of the Courts of Justice, in a vacancy left by Justice , who had retired. He was sworn in on 29 October 2001. In 2003, Luiz Fux was the

rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...

of the trial in the Superior Court of Justice that legalised

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, reversing the decision of the Federal Court of the 3rd Region. In March 2005, Fux was admitted 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 ...

to the Order of Military Merit in the degree of Special Commander.

Career in the STF and TSE

Fux was appointed as a Justice of the

(STF) 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 ...

on 1 February 2011 to fill a vacancy left by the retirement of Justice in August 2010, and had his nomination approved by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

nine days later. He took up his position in the STF on 3 March 2011. On 23 March 2011, Fux gave the decisive vote rendering the '' Lei da Ficha Limpa'' unconstitutional in its applicability to the

2010 Brazilian general election General elections were held in Brazil on 3 October 2010 to elect the president, National Congress and state governors. As no presidential candidate received more than 50% in the first round of voting, a second round was held on 31 October to choos ...

. In an interview with Folha de S.Paulo on 2 December 2012, Fux revealed details of the lobbying effort that preceded his nomination to the Supreme Court by President Dilma Rousseff. Among his requests for political support, he included José Dirceu,

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of President Lula, still an influential figure in the ruling Workers Party (PT), even after being accused in the

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 o ...

. In several meetings, they discussed the forthcoming criminal trial in the Supreme Court, and decided the fate of those indicted in that corruption scandal. José Dirceu interpreted the conversations as a promise of acquittal by would-be justice. Once a member of the court, Justice Fux sided with the majority, voting to condemn most defendants, including José Dirceu himself. Fux has also served as a member of the

Superior Electoral Court The Superior Electoral Court ( pt-BR, Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, TSE) is the highest body of the Brazilian Electoral Justice, which also comprises one Regional Electoral Court ( pt-BR, Tribunal Regional Eleitoral, TRE) in each of the 26 states ...

(TSE) since 2014, and has also served as the TSE's vice-president from 2016 to 2017 and president in 2018.

Personal life

Fux has practiced

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

since the age of 26 and is currently an 8th degree white and red belt.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fux, Luiz Living people 1953 births Brazilian Jews Brazilian people of Romanian-Jewish descent 20th-century Brazilian judges People from Rio de Janeiro (city) Supreme Federal Court of Brazil justices Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a coral belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu 21st-century Brazilian judges