Justices advocate mandatory retirement at 75 for all civil servants

The two most senior Supreme Court justices, Celso de Mello and Marco Aurélio, advocated Wednesday (May 6) that a constitutional amendment proposal to raise the age limit for mandatory retirement of high court justices from 70 to 75 years old should be extended to all civil servants.

The change, approved Tuesday (5) in a second round of voting at the Chamber of Deputies, will apply to both of them. Celso de Mello, appointed in 1989 by the then president, José Sarney, regarded the decision “wise” as a recognition that the current court members have their experience and maturity to contribute. He argued that the new retirement rule should also apply to all civil servants.

“The amended should be expanded as soon as possible to apply to other civil servants across the Three Power Branches. It's important to extend it and take advantage of the high level of experience and professional maturity of the civil servants of the Three Power Branches. It would be a win for the public interest,” he said.

Marco Aurélio agreed: “I think the change in the maximum age for civil service should apply to all civil servants, only I regret the amendment was approved after so many years in this atmosphere of retaliation, which is not good for national institutions.”

He was to retire mandatorily in July 2016, but now he will remain in service for longer. “I'm not the kind of man who just throws in the towel. I am very enthusiastic about my job as a judge. Of course I was ready in my mind to leave in a year, two months and a few days but now I'll perform my duties as a Brazilian citizen,” he said.

Translated by Mayra Borges