O uso do Plenário Virtual do Supremo Tribunal Federal: Análise da Nova Dinâmica Deliberativa

In the past few years, the Brazilian Supreme Court has actively participated in important chapters of the country’s history, which, naturally, has transferred many spotlights to the way in which the court and its ministers decide. However, also in this same period of time (2016 - 2022), an important change in the functioning of the Court occurred too: the expansion of the use of the Virtual Plenary, that means a virtual environment through asynchronous judgments. Most of the effects of this change are still unknown, which does not, however, prevent questions and answers from being formulated in order to understand the new deliberative and decision-making dynamics of the STF. Through the research carried out, the functioning of this new deliberative dynamic was unraveled, as well as its practical effects - measurable by the data and statistics provided by the Court - and, also, the repercussions on the way in which the Supreme Court began to decide and deliberate the processes within its jurisdiction. Using empirical data made available electronically by the STF and bibliographical references of important appeal in Brazilian legal doctrine, hypotheses and theses were discussed, as well as their respective criticisms, which followed a path in search of conclusions. As much as the Supreme Court judges more efficiently, this change may imply a deviation from a deliberative project for the institution, such as public and social scrutiny on its way of deciding.