The requirement of notable legal expertise in the appointment of justices to the Supreme Federal Court: impartiality, assessment criteria, constitutional review, and comparative law

Abstract

This article examines the constitutional requirement of notável saber jurídico (outstanding legal scholarship), set forth in Article 101 of the Brazilian Constitution, as a binding condition for the appointment of Justices to the Supreme Federal Court. It argues that this requirement is not merely symbolic or political, but a full legal standard whose observance conditions the legitimacy of the appointment, constitutionally structured as a complex act. By distinguishing notoriety from notability, the article develops the normative content of this requirement based on constitutional doctrine, jurisprudence, and comparative law. It further analyzes the principle of impersonality as a structural constraint on presidential appointments and the role of the Federal Senate as a body of constitutional concretization and oversight. The paper concludes that weakening these standards undermines the institutional rationality and legitimacy of constitutional adjudication.