Brazil Supreme Court chief Edson Fachin warns of internal and external pressures on judiciary

Supreme Court President Edson Fachin told an audience at the opening of the VI Brazilian Congress of Law and Public Policies in São Paulo that the independence of Brazil’s judiciary faces threats from both internal pressures and external actions such as unilateral sanctions and undue constraints. He said such measures are “incompatible with respect between sovereign states” and warned that democracy is experiencing “strong tensions” worldwide, citing the recent attempted coup in Brazil that placed the court at the centre of public debate.

Fachin stressed that judicial autonomy is not a corporate privilege but a guarantee for society: without independent judges there can be no effective protection of fundamental rights or proper checks on power. He also highlighted a recent meeting with United Nations special rapporteur Margaret Satterthwaite on the independence of magistrates, expressing concern about the broader challenges confronting constitutional democracies.