JUDICIAL ETHICS IN THE PRIVATE LIFE OF THE BRAZILIAN JUDGE

WHERE DOES YOUR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION GO BEYOND THE CABINET?

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze the compatibility of the judiciary's
professional mister with compatible platforms or tools to express opinions and thoughts. In the field of legal ethics, the National Council of Justice issued Provision No. 71/2018 and
Resolution No. 305/2019, which regulate the (good) behavior to be watched by judges in
different media, such as social networks. To develop the scope of the study, the method of
deductive approach is used and the principles of judicial ethics applicable to magistrates both
for the performance of their professional functions and for the conduct of private life, in light
of international and national codes that govern the subject. The merits of this work are
explored in sequence under two specific perspectives. In the first of them, it is about the
unconstitutionality of the complementary norms published by the National Council of Justice
that prohibit certain conducts for those who exercise the judicature. The second prism, on
the opposite side, deals with the freedom of expression enshrined in the Federal Constitution,
in compliance with its normative content and constitutional limits. Finally, it is concluded
that there is no legal reason to unrestrictedly segregate magistrates from the same category
of active subjects of freedom of expression, as a fundamental, non-absolute and protected
right for all citizens, with some limits arising from the office.