Spanish University Denies Offering Graduate Degree Course Claimed by STF-Nominee Nunes Marques

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The academic curriculum submitted by Judge Kássio Nunes Marques, appointed by Jair Bolsonaro to the Federal Supreme Court (STF), includes a graduate-level course that has not been confirmed by the University of La Coruña, Spain.

In the curriculum vitae submitted to the Federal Regional Court of the First Region (TRF-1) and published on the TRF’s website, Marques mentions that he has completed a graduate school course in “Public Procurement” at the Spanish University of La Coruña.

However, when contacted by the report, the institution stated that it does not offer any graduate studies in this course. “We advise that the University of La Coruña has not taught any graduate-level course under the name of Public Procurement,” declared the university.

When asked directly whether Kassio Marques attended at least one activity under the name of “Public Procurement”, the University submitted a copy of Marques’ certificate, showing that the judge attended a four-day course, between September 1st and 5th, 2014.

“Kássio Nunes Marques audited the “1st Euro-Brazilian Course on Public Procurement,” organized by the University of La Coruña, the Ibero-American Doctorate Program on Administrative Law, the Ibero-American Public Procurement Network, the Brazilian Institute of Legal Studies on Infrastructure and the Global Public Law Research Group, held at the La Coruña School of Law between September 1st and 5th, 2014,” the certificate states.

Questions on the candidate’s resumé have been brought to Kassio Marques’ attention. At the virtual hearing he held on Tuesday, September 6th, with seven senators, the judge even commented to legislators about his graduate-level courses.

According to a senator present at the meeting, the judge expressed concern about the repercussion that this issue could have, but told the senators that if any controversy occurred, he already had the justifications. At one point, Marques even mentioned that there is no requirement for training in law for someone to hold the post of STF Justice, but rather exemplary knowledge of the law.

Marques’ resumé also mentions two graduate-level courses at the University of Salamanca in Spain: the first, a doctorate in Law, with specialization in Administration, Finance, and Justice; the second, a post-doctorate in Human Rights.

When asked, the university replied only that public information about students is available on the institution’s website. Nunes Marques’s doctorate is in fact listed on the university’s website – with a detail: his doctoral thesis was defended only 11 days ago, on September 25th. The post-doctorate course in Human Rights, however, does not feature in the University of Salamanca’s public database.

Another post-doctoral course mentioned in Kassio Nunes Marques’ professional resumé is Constitutional Law, at the University of Messina, in Italy. Questioned by the reporter four days ago, the university has not yet answered about the Judge’s participation in this course.

It is also noteworthy that Kassio Nunes Marques, age 48, completed his doctorate just 11 days ago and has now completed two post-doctoral courses in his academic career. He also fails to use the standard curriculum vitae to prove academic experience in Brazil, the Lattes Curriculum, a basic tool used to attest, in detail, to education and academic qualifications.

Kassio Nunes Marques’s résumé states that he has another post-graduate degree, in Brazil, in Legal Sciences, from the University of Maranhão – MA. No higher education institution with this name that offers this postgraduate course was found. The federal University of Maranhão (FAM) said that it has no courses in Law. The São José dos Cocais University of Maranhão is still to answer if it offers the course or if Kassio Nunes Marques was a student of the institution.

Regarding Marques’ undergraduate degree in Law from Piauí Federal University, the university confirmed that he completed the course in 1994 and said he had obtained an average Academic Achievement Grade of 8,37 points, (out of 10.0) “without any record that would discredit his academic performance.”

This information was sent by Estadão to Judge Nunes Marques, asking for clarification about the courses mentioned, year, and duration. So far, there has been no reply. The same questions were sent to TRF-1 on Tuesday, October 6th.

The Court’s press office reported that “it is not authorized to speak on behalf of Federal Judge Kássio Marques, who, for the time being, is not responding to press questions.” The TRF-1 declared that, as reported by the magistrate’s office, the updated official résumé is available on the court’s website.

On Tuesday, during a visit to senators in Congress, Kassio Marques recalled that academic training was, in fact, not a determining factor in choosing an STF Justice. Commenting on his stand against corruption, he said that “I would be perplexed if any Brazilian citizen were appointed, whether it be an attorney, magistrate, or another citizen because the Constitution does not require anyone to have a degree in law to be a Supreme Court justice, who would be against the fight against corruption.”

In fact, a person does not need to have a law degree to be an STF Justice. The requirement of “outstanding legal knowledge”, as provided by law, can be achieved by any person with any training, who has deep knowledge and mastery of legislation.

Source: Estadão Conteúdo