O controle de constitucionalidade do Tribunal de Contas do Estado de Goiás sob o aspecto da governança pública

Abstract

Courts of Accounts, in the exercise of their constitutionally established competencies, frequently encounter legislation that conflicts with the constitutional order, giving rise to debate regarding their authority to exercise incidental review of unconstitutionality. The issue was recently updated by the Brazilian Supreme Court in its rulings on Writs of Mandamus n. 35.410/2021 and n. 25.888/2023, which reaffirmed the compatibility of Precedent n. 347 with the 1988 constitutional order, authorizing Courts of Accounts to set aside, incidenter tantum, unconstitutional norms in concrete cases. Based on the first ruling, the Court of Accounts of the State of Goiás established, through Judgment n. 3690/22 of its Full Court, a position of incompetence to exercise such review. Going beyond the legal debate, this study aims to analyze the extent to which this decision influences the Court's responsiveness in the exercise of its constitutional competencies. Situated within the research line "Public Administration and Organizations", the study adopts as its theoretical framework public governance — with emphasis on responsiveness as an indicator of institutional quality — and network governance as a prerequisite for the generation of public value, understood as the production of social and institutional benefits that meet the aspirations of society. The research is qualitative and exploratory in nature, combining literature review and documentary research, with content analysis of judgments issued by the Court of Accounts of the State of Goiás from September 19, 2022 onwards concerning its competence to exercise incidental constitutional review. Based on defined analytical indicators, the results revealed high internal consistency in the replication of the position established in Judgment n. 3690/2022; however, a significant constitutional misalignment was identified, as the vast majority of the rulings analyzed adopted a posture of self-restraint that exceeds the restrictions imposed by the guardian of the Constitution itself. This systematic abstention generated a relevant supervisory gap, undermining the effectiveness of external control and the generation of public value. As a technical-technological product, a professional training course is proposed for civil servants and members of the Court of Accounts of the State of Goiás, aimed at promoting institutional alignment with Supreme Court jurisprudence as an instrument for strengthening responsiveness and consolidating network governance.