The annual Lisbon legal forum associated with Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes opened on Monday under renewed scrutiny over its public cost and its ties to the private sector, even as the 2026 edition drew a thinner showing of major business figures than in previous years.
Public Money for 135 Officials
Brazilian public agencies authorized at least 135 officials and civil servants to travel to Portugal for the forum, according to a survey by Folha de S.Paulo. The 14th edition was held June 1-3 at the University of Lisbon's law faculty, bringing together members of Brazil's judiciary, executive and legislative branches, academics, lawyers and policy specialists under the theme "New International Order, Technology and Sovereignty." Part of the cost of flights and daily allowances will be covered by public funds; Folha reported that only a small number of the bodies it surveyed said the travel would be paid privately.
A Thinner Business Turnout
The event, often nicknamed "Gilmarpalooza" by the Brazilian press, is formally the Forum Juridico de Lisboa. It is organized by the IDP, a law school linked to Mendes, together with Fundacao Getulio Vargas's justice centre and the Lisbon Public Law Research Centre.
O Globo columnist Lauro Jardim reported that several expected names from Brazil's private sector did not attend the opening ceremony, including financier Andre Esteves, founder of BTG Pactual. The reduced corporate presence drew attention because companies with cases before the Supreme Court have historically been part of the forum's wider program, raising recurring questions about the proximity between justices, business interests and litigants.
The Backdrop
The scrutiny over cost and business ties has shadowed the forum for several editions. Its defenders present it as an academic and policy gathering on law, technology and democracy; its critics argue that public funding and the attendance of parties with interests before the court create an appearance of conflict that an event led by a sitting justice should avoid.