Fachin Awaits Dino’s Vote to Resume Cases Involving Moraes and Mendonça

Edson Fachin, chief justice of Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court (STF), is awaiting the return of Justice Flávio Dino’s request to review a case before resuming proceedings involving justices Alexandre de Moraes and André Mendonça, both tied to investigations into Banco Master.

Vote was tied before the suspension

The impasse began during a plenary session, when justices debated whether the proceedings tied to Moraes and Mendonça should be merged and reassigned to a single rapporteur. Gilmar Mendes, Dino, Cristiano Zanin and Moraes himself voted to merge the petitions; Fachin, Mendonça, Luiz Fux and Cármen Lúcia voted to keep the proceedings separate.

With the vote provisionally tied, Dino requested more time to review the case, suspending the vote before a conclusion was reached. Under STF rules, a justice has up to 90 days from the publication of the session’s minutes to return the case file — otherwise it is automatically released for the judgment to continue.

Review request also pulled a hearing from the docket

The impasse led Fachin to pull Wednesday’s (23) hearing on Mendonça’s conduct from the docket, where it had originally been scheduled. According to the chief justice, the procedural question Dino raised is directly tied to that proceeding and even raises questions about the validity of the original assignment itself.

Until the full court resolves the procedural question, it remains unclear whether the two cases will be examined jointly or separately. Justices and the Attorney General’s Office have already given Fachin their input on the matter.