FROM THE JUSTICES WE HAVE TO THE JUSTICES WE WANT: an empirical analysis of the constitutional amendment proposals on the nomination process of the STF Justices (1988-2019)

According to the judicialization of politics perspective, Constitutional Courts have reached an important role in democratic societies. In Brazil, the Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) represents a leading institutional voice ranging from the gay-marriage support to the impeachment process regulation. However, the increase of this central role is followed by an ongoing distrust on the democratic deficit of the Constitutional Court, either from the theoretical as practice perspective. The way the Justices are selected represents one of this democratic concern. Based on that problem, we developed an empirical research on the constitutional amendment proposals in Brazil (1988/2019) that have focused on the appointment process to become a Justice in the Supremo Tribunal Federal. In conclusion, the data indicate the existence of a significant demand for other institutions to participate in the nomination process.