With the need to maintain all educational activities and accompaniment of academic teaching, regardless of the global situation, the School of Judges of Tocantins (ESMAT) has innovated once again its pedagogical process, performing the graduation of the II Lato Sensu Graduate Class in “Rule of Law and Combating Corruption”, virtually due to the health rules arising from the global pandemic of COVID – 19. The ceremony was attended by teachers, such as the course coordinator, professor Dr. Tarsis Barreto; Judge Álvaro do Nascimento Cunha representing the class; the general director of ESMAT, Marco Villas Boas; the post-doctoral professor and Judge Sérgio Ricardo de Souza, speaker at the broadcast; and the president of the National Association of Magistrates, Caetano Levi Lopes.

After the ceremony opening held by the general director of Esmat, Marco Villas Boas, the post-doctoral professor in Law, at Coimbra University, Sérgio Ricardo de Souza, Judge at the Justice Court of Espírito Santo, began his lecture “New Authority Abuse Law”. The magistrate stressed that the Law is the theme of a book published last Wednesday (3rd), entitled “Comments on the New Authority Abuse Law”, availabke for commercialization. 

The professor spoke about the entire historical process, from the great police operations performed in the last two decades and aimed at combating organized crime, culminating in “Lava Jato” Operation. He has observed that – as a reprisal for the Clean Hands Operation, in Italy, a source of inspiration for “Lava Jato” - the Italian political class created several mechanisms of self-protection against investigation in the criminal sphere and limited prerogatives of the judiciary and Service Prosecution, which generated great mistrust during the processing of the Law Project that culminated in Law number 13.869, from 2019, as the public agents that integrate the Brazilian criminal justice system saw the initiative as a reprisal from the Legislative Power. “Unfortunately our Authority Abuse Law came about perhaps in a historic moment, in a wrong historical period. The way in which it was put to society seemed, mistakenly, that it was a revenge against those Legal operators who acted in several operations to fight crime, especially the operation called “Lava Jato”, which was the reason of much criticism on the part of lawyers and also by some politicians and community members due to that situation that we all know”, he has affirmed.

The professor has stressed that, although the Law, since its creation, has acquired an ideological and party slant, “What it aims to safeguard are the fundamental rights of all. Individual rights, which are in the Federal Constitution, Treaties that our country has incorporated into our law. The objective is to preserve those fundamental rights”, and to avoid their improper application, the legislator inserted, in paragraph 1 of article 1, a general clause imposing, for the typicality of the conducts inserted in Law number 13.869, from 2019, the requirement of special subjective elements of the type (specific intent)

Vanguard

For the coordinator of the Post-Graduation course, Professor Dr. Tarsis Barreto, Esmat, under direction of Judge Marco Villas Boas, is at the forefront in the process of disseminating knowledge, since it is a new theme and a necessary study in the scope of the Brazilian Judiciary Power, and for that reason, it is studied in this Post-Gradution course. “The theme must be the subject to be studied and debated in the coming decades, especially when it comes to the presence of the corruption phenomenon in our country. For the president of the National School of Magistrates, Caetano Levi Lopes, the initiative of Esmat to launch and maintain a Postgraduate course on the subject of combating corruption deserves recognition. “Today´s Brazilian society no longer tolerates corruption and the rule of law does not tolerate corruption either, and that fight is only possible with well-prepared professionals. We are sure that this group, which is training professionals in its various areas, will do that work. We would like to reiterate and say that the National School of Magistrates will always sow and support the work of Esmat”, he has said.

Representing the II Post-Graduation Class, the Judge of law Álvaro Nascimento Cunha reinforced the importance, the need and the historical moment in which the course was inserted to magistrates and operators of Law in Tocantins. “We have all always heard of corruption in Brazil, but I can say that I particurlarly did not have a deep knowledge about this evil that accompanies the history of our country. In the post, we had Law operators who worked at “Lava Jato” itself and it was with some surprise that we saw the scale of that evil. This course was excellent, it really is a milestone in the history of Brazil and Tocantins. I, as a magistrate, have the honor and pride to be part of this School, to have attended classes and to have understood the teachings, the techniques, the examples. It is also certain that this course will not stop. Why? Because corruption is very extensive and continuous”, he has said

At the end of the ceremony, the general director of Esmat, Judge Marco Villas Boas, stressed that this is the first Lato Sensu Post-Graduation course for the theme in the country, and that so far it has trained about 140 specialists, even the current Mayor of Palmas, Cinthia Ribeiro. The director highlighted the participation of academics working in different areas, such as members of the judiciary, judiciary workers, lawyers, members of the security forces and other people interested in the topic. “The course shows that this culture of combating corruption in Brazil is gaining proportions and increasingly joining sympathizers and destined people, obstinate to fight against corruption. That is the final goal. In the field of law, of course, investigations, everything must happen with the necessary balance, within the limits determined by the Constitution. And the limits of State Power and any authority are systematically drawn by fundamental rights. This is the modern concept of constitution, without neglecting its political dimension, its social dimension, its legal and historical dimension, it is the entrance, the incorporation of the Western constitutions of Human Rights”, he has stressed. 

II Class

The Post-Graduation had 69 participants, in person, and took place from October 2019 to December 2019, with 23 modules and a 362 hours classload, in addition to 2 interdisciplinary modules. In an unprecedented way in the face-to-face format, Esmat consolidates itself as an entity that trains professionals to perform with excellence in the preservation, maintenance and enforcement of Human Rights in our country.