MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil's STF overturns “legitimate defense of honor” rationale

Luís Roberto Barroso will become acting STF Chief Justice between July 1-16, it was announced

Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) Friday reached a decisive majority against the “legitimate defense of honor” argument filed by numerous counselors in femicides, it was reported. This rationale was particularly frequent in cases tried by a jury.

In line with Justice Dias Toffoli's stance, the STF upheld the declaration of unconstitutionality of such reasoning, completely dismissing possible allegations in this sense, it was explained.

Joining Toffoli's vote were Justices André Mendonça, Alexandre De Moraes, Edson Fachin, Kassio Nunes Marques, and Luís Roberto Barroso.

In the rapporteur's view, the “legitimate defense of honor” thesis consists of a “hateful, inhuman and cruel argumentative/rhetorical resource used by the defenses of those accused of femicide or aggression against women to impute to the victims the cause of their deaths or injuries, contributing immensely to the naturalization and perpetuation of the culture of violence against women in Brazil.”

After labeling the argument as “ludicrous and ill-fated,” Justice Fachin suggested the STF established the possibility for the courts to admit appeals against decisions of femicide juries. Thus, the courts will be able to order new trials in cases in which the thesis was used by the jury.

Also Friday it was announced that magistrate Luís Roberto Barroso will become acting STF Chief Justice between July 1-16 during the winter recess. Chief Justice Rosa Weber will resume her duties on July 17, while the break will last until July 31. In the meantime, plenary sessions are suspended, but the judges can continue to work on ongoing cases. Justice Alexandre De Moraes will not go on vacation and will continue to handle the cases in his office, including the Jan. 8 uprising.

After the recess, Justice Cristiano Zanin, chosen by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to replace the retiring Ricardo Lewandowski, will be sworn in Aug. 3.