Court rejects São Paulo appeal, pro-Casares measures dropped | OneFootball

Decisive defeat for Julio Casares. Judge Mônica Rodrigues Doas de Carvalho, from the 1st Chamber of Private Law of the São Paulo Court of Justice, rejected on the morning of this Wednesday (14) the appeal filed by São Paulo against a previous favorable decision that reinstated the minimum quorum for voting on the impeachment of the president, in addition to establishing a hybrid model between in-person and virtual for the election.

In the magistrate's understanding, there are no reasons for changing what was previously determined.

“Initially, although the issue of minimum quorum was discussed, I note that the accepted decision has already admitted that the meeting should observe for its start the minimum presence defended by the appellant. I emphasize that there was no determination on the deliberation quorum, but only on the minimum presence for the opening of the meeting, so it is not appropriate to address the topic at this time. Furthermore, with due respect, I did not see which regulatory provision prohibits the participation of councilors electronically,” says a section of the decision.

An injunction issued by Judge Luciane Cristina Silva Tavares, from the 3rd Civil Court of Butantã, at the beginning of the week, had changed the 'rule' for impeachment, annulling the decision of the president of the body, Olten Ayres de Abreu, and returning the rule to open the process of Casares' removal with only 171 favorable votes, in addition to allowing the extraordinary meeting to be held in a hybrid manner.

The legal action was filed by lawyer Amanda Nunes and was brought by councilors Caio Forjaz, Daniel Dinis Fonseca, Fabio Machado, José Medicis, José Carlos Ferreira Alves, Kalef João Francisco Neto, Marcelo Portugal Gouvêa, Miguel de Sousa, and Waldo Jose Valim Braga.

The assessment is that several councilors in favor of Casares' removal could not be present at the meeting on Friday because they were traveling on vacation.

The judge responsible for the decision also sees no conflict between articles 58 and 112 of São Paulo's Social Statute. She says that a 75% quorum (191 councilors) is needed for the meeting to be held, but only two-thirds of votes in favor of impeachment for Casares to be removed from the presidency.

“Observing both statutory provisions, it is noted that art. 58, §2º establishes the quorum for voting, that is, the minimum number of councilors present, while art. 112 provides for the number of votes necessary for the removal of the President. Thus, the second notice is correct, which provides for a minimum quorum of 75% of Council members for the Meeting aimed at deliberating the removal of the President of the Board,” writes the judge in her ruling.

Last week, Abreu had rejected the request filed by the opposition for the vote to be held in a hybrid manner. That is, both in-person and virtually, under the argument of increasing the participation of body members and reducing risks related to the external environment and public outcry.

In the meeting call notice, Abreu argues that the in-person format ensures “the maximum irrefutability of the secret vote, protecting the autonomy of the voting councilor.”

Furthermore, he justifies that given the importance of the subject, in-person voting “is essential for legal security and the unquestionable legitimacy of the final decision.”

But it was not the only measure taken by Abreu, let's say, more lenient towards the president. Earlier, he gave a favorable opinion to a request made by Casares himself, to change the necessary quorum of votes for the opening of the impeachment.

In a ruling, the president of the Council acknowledged the existence of a statutory controversy, as different items in the document provide for different percentages for the approval of the removal.

But, according to him, the understanding is that, given the seriousness of the accusations that led to the vote, the interpretation more favorable to the accused prevails.

With the change, the minimum number of favorable votes for impeachment now rises from 171 to 191, that is, 75% of the Council.

The first step for opening the removal process happens after a formal request from opposition councilors to the current tricolor management, who gathered the 57 signatures necessary to initiate the removal of the leader, according to the club's Statute, at the end of December.

With this approval, the president would already be removed from office, with the São Paulo vice-president, Harry Massis Júnior, taking over.

Even so, however, for the removal process to be completed, Casares will still undergo an evaluation in a general assembly with all the club's paying members. A simple majority vote would seal the leader's departure.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.