RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Yesterday, September 17th, the Rio de Janeiro Court of Appeals (TJ/RJ) denied the city government’s appeal of a decision prohibiting the reopening of private schools.
TJ Chief Judge Claudio de Mello argued in his ruling that he had “no reason to decide on the matter at this time, while it is pending a decision by the Supreme Court”. Rio’s City Hall has also filed an appeal at the STF.
The original lower court decision refused permission to reopen on two grounds: first, safety measures were not proven; and second, permitting private schools to open before public schools would discriminate against those children who cannot afford the private school fees.
In his ruling full of hyperbole, the judge said that the suspension of safety measures, requested by the municipality of Rio “is a hundred-ton cannon that requires a complex mechanism to be used, to throw a considerable amount of gunpowder, and to be adjusted, a large target for aiming. In other words: it must be used as the silver bullet”.
Source: Agência Brasil