Justice Flávio Dino, of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF), said on Friday (28) in Salvador that an excessive leading role for the judiciary is not desirable. He made the remarks during a lecture to students at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), according to Folha de S.Paulo.

"It is true that we have an overprotagonism of the judiciary. And it is true that this is not desirable," Dino said. He went on to argue that the court should not back down under pressure and must keep protecting fundamental rights.

"The Supreme Court should not stand at the center of the square [Brasília's Three Powers Square], but it also cannot run out of the square, as if it were fleeing, cornered, afraid of those who feel wronged by its decisions. If the Supreme Court runs away, there is nothing left there today to guarantee compliance with the Constitution," the justice said.

Dino said the challenge is to redesign the space the judiciary occupies in Brazilian politics without harming the democratic rule of law. In his view, part of the judiciary's action responds to structural problems that the other branches of government have not solved. He cited STF rulings on family rights, indigenous health, the prison system, police lethality and environmental protection. He added that the courts can set targets, establish deadlines, monitor the execution of measures and demand public policies from the other branches through what Brazil calls structural cases, a type of lawsuit used to address systemic rights violations.

Rapporteur's budget amendments

Dino is the rapporteur of ADPF 854, a constitutional case dealing with the expansion of the so-called rapporteur's amendments, a controversial congressional budget mechanism. He said the cases are "almost ready to be judged" and defended a broad debate on the issue. A decision on the future of the amendments now depends on the case being judged by the full bench of the STF.