06/30/2024 – 19:23
Amid criticism related to the lack of transparency, the Judiciary lacks complete data on the racial composition of the forensic world, according to a study by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV). Data Jud, the national database of the Judiciary, indicates that of a total of 18,324 judges in the country, 2,202 declare themselves black, of which 1,954 are mixed race and 248 are black. The mapping does not include data on 2,273 judges, according to the MPM System (Monthly Productivity Module).
The research “Operationalizing racial equity in the Judiciary: an analysis of the implementation of Resolution 203/2015 of the National Council of Justice (CNJ)’, by FGV Direito, shows how the lack of data on the ethnic-racial profile of magistrates can influence the development of public policies.
Resolution 203/2015 provides for a minimum level of 20% of black people in judicial positions. However, according to the study, the lack of data hampers the analysis of the impact of quotas in public competitions and also the reformulation of vacancy reservation percentages.
“The underrepresentation is latent. The problem is that people don’t stop to think about it. The lack of reliable data, not because of the CNJ, but because of the courts that don’t produce this data, is crazy, considering that it is one of the most expensive institutions and that it should have greater transparency in terms of personnel,” points out professor and coordinator of the research at FGV Direito Luciana Ramos.
The secretary-general of the National Council of Justice, Adriana Alves, emphasizes that the racial issue entered the Judiciary’s agenda after data collection. “In 2013, when the first survey was conducted, the numbers translated into scientific statistics what we had previously indicated, which was that there were very few black people. So much so that if you look at the number of black people, we are including a large contingent of brown people, and there are only 249 black people.”
The presiding judge of the Regional Labor Court of the 23rd Region (MT), Adenir Carruesco, understands that the numbers show how the legal community as a whole does not care about or does not perceive the racial issue.
“I am the only black judge on the court since the public exam. She has been a judge for 30 years and to date, no other black female judge has been approved in competitions. And then you realize, if I have a percentage of black and brown people abroad, why is this not reflected within the institutions as a whole, in the spaces of power and decision-making?”, asks the judge.
The 2022 IBGE Census showed that 55.5% of Brazil’s population self-identifies as black. In the Judiciary, 13.7% self-identify as black. The percentage is calculated based on available data, that is, from 16,052 judges.
The number of black people in the judiciary is related to the selection mechanisms, the public examination, and, therefore, ‘has a meritocratic assumption’, highlights Luciana Ramos.
She notes that the structural construction of Brazilian society is permeated by racist ideals that keep certain groups away from power. “So, we have a very drastic scenario that highlights this underrepresentation of black people in the Judiciary, particularly in the judiciary,” she explains.
The FGV survey conducted 26 interviews in 13 courts to question perceptions about the quota policy and the assessment of racial equity in the Judiciary. For the interviewees, the quota policy for black people increased the presence of this group. However, when asked about the position of these people – judges or civil servants – the majority perceived an increase among civil servants.
“People were able to name one or two black judges,” notes the professor. Of the 280,840 employees of the Judiciary, 58,965 are self-declared brown and 10,542 are black. The total that has not been reported is 27,335.
Researchers at FGV Direito indicate that obstacles to accessing information on racial composition generated by the courts’ failure to produce data hinder the CNJ’s monitoring of entry, permanence and promotion in careers that make up the forensic world.
“We spent the entire research trying to address this lack of data […] This is a huge problem. When you don’t have information, you can’t even evaluate public policy,” complains Luciana Ramos.
The National Council of Justice ensures that it acts constantly to ensure that the lack of information is resolved. In 2023, the institution carried out a campaign to re-register ethnic-racial data with the Judiciary.
The action is part of the National Judiciary Pact for Racial Equity, which was joined by all courts. Furthermore, the Council developed the CNJ Quality awards for courts with the highest level of completion and quality of information.
According to the general secretary of the CNJ, Adriana Alves, the actions seek not only to fill in the data, but also to qualify them through this incentive. She says that there is no mandatory provision for the declaration.
“A mandatory determination, in this case specifically, can even make the person produce a result, but perhaps not the expected result, because we don’t want any answer, we want a quality answer, so we want it through the work of convincing the court , for the judge to understand that that information is important”, explains Adriana.
Deracialization process
FGV also shows that there is a process of deracialization in the mechanisms for entering the Judiciary through public examinations. This happens because the quota policy is expected to take place in the first stage. Thus, when the candidate declares himself black at the time of registration, but passes the cutoff grade, he enters the general competition.
“Deracialization happens when you bring everyone together, then I lose this race marker, which is important so I can see how many black people entered”, explains Luciana Ramos. According to article 3 of Law 12,990 of 2014, which regulates the quota policy in public competitions, “black candidates approved within the number of vacancies offered for broad competition will not be counted for the purpose of filling reserved vacancies”. Thus, according to the FGV study, the tracking of candidates who entered the broad competition is lost.
For Judge Adenir Carruesco, despite the efforts, the issue of quotas failed to achieve its objective. “The application of quotas must be made widely available so that we can understand how many people entered through the quota (…) we need to clarify this, publish detailed data on racial composition, because otherwise this assessment becomes difficult.”
Extension of racial quotas in public tenders
Law 12,990, of 2014, which determines the reservation of 20% of places offered in public competitions for black people, ended on June 10th for ten years. As a result, PSOL and Rede Sustentabilidade filed a lawsuit with the Federal Supreme Court asking for the legislation to be maintained.
The parties maintain that public policy has not achieved the effect of social inclusion and criticize the limit established by legislation that restricts the quota policy only to competitions offering three or more places.
The rapporteur of the action at the STF, Minister Flávio Dino, recognized that the law did not achieve its objectives and, therefore, should remain in force.
However, the minister highlighted the need, set out in the legislation itself, to assess the effects of the public policy to determine whether or not there is a need for continuity.
“Such quotas will continue to be observed until the legislative process within the competence of the National Congress and, subsequently, the Executive Branch is concluded. If this conclusion is reached, the new deliberation of the Legislative Branch will prevail, and the content of this precautionary decision will be re-evaluated”, determined the minister.
At the end of May, the Senate approved PL 1,958/2021, which increases the reservation of places in public competitions for black, brown, indigenous and quilombola people to 30%. The proposal originally presented by Senator Paulo Paim (PT-RS) was forwarded to the Chamber and awaits dispatch from President Arthur Lira (PP-AI).
“The Senate has already approved all the matters we put on the agenda on the topic of combating racism and prejudice. We regret that the Chamber did not understand the importance of this matter. This demonstrates that social and racial issues are not a priority”, says the senator. For Paim, the renewal of public policy is fundamental to strengthening the country’s democracy.
Arthur Lira said that the bill should be discussed next week at a meeting of the leaders’ college. In a note, the deputy informed that he “will listen to party leaders to define the processing of the PL, when the black bench should make a request to the college for its processing.”
WITH THE WORD, ARTHUR LIRA
Through his advice, the president of the Chamber informed that PL 1,958 should be discussed at the next meeting of the college of leaders, scheduled for next week.
“President Arthur Lira will listen to party leaders to define the processing of the bill, when the black bench must make a request to the collegiate for its processing.”
According to the press office, ‘during his administration, President Arthur Lira issued resolution 116/23, which creates the black bench in the Chamber of Deputies, a pioneering initiative in the Brazilian parliament’.
And highlights Bill 5384/20, transformed into law 14.723/23, which deals with the Law on Quotas for Admission to Universities, permanent in nature, with the adoption of a racial quota system. “It provides for the special program for access to federal institutions of higher education and secondary technical education for black, brown, indigenous and quilombola students and people with disabilities, as well as those who have completed their entire secondary or elementary education in a public school.”
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