User:Elinruby/Brazil

The Mining Code is a Brazilian federal law, published by Decree-Law nº 227, of February 28, 1967, which regulates the administration of mineral resources by the Union (Brazil), the mineral production industry and distribution, trade eoconsumption of mineral products in Brazil.

In 1891, the Republican Constitution was promulgated, which linked subsoil ownership to that of the soil, which was separated with the New Constitution of 1934. Furthermore, the National Department of Mineral Production (DNPM) was created.

With the granting of the Constitution of the Estado Novo, in 1937, the use of mineral deposits was restricted only to Brazilians or companies formed by Brazilians. A year later, in 1938, the National Petroleum Council was created, which nationalized oil refining and regulated its import and transportation. In 1940, Constitutional Law no. such as the 'Code of Mines'. The Mining Code defined the rights over deposits and mines, established the regime for their use and regulated State intervention in the mining industry. Six years after the creation of the Mining Code, in 1946, the New Constitutional Order reopened mining in the country to the participation of foreign capital, and extended the Single Taxation, created in 1940, to all minerals in Brazil. The Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) was then created in 1960.[1] Finally, in 1967, Decree-Law No. 227 was created, called the ‘Mining Code’, which is in force to this day. On July 25, 2017, the Mining Code underwent changes, through Provisional Measures 789, 790 and 791, which changed the CFEM rate, created the National Mining Agency, in addition to new rules and taxes, aiming to modernize the normative base of Brazilian mining.

The Native Vegetation Protection Law (LPVN), popularly called the New Brazilian Forest Code[1][note 1] (Law No. 12,651, of May 25, 2012,[2] arising from Bill No. 1,876/99[ 3]), it is the Brazilian law that provides for the protection of native vegetation, having revoked the Brazilian Forest Code of 1965.[4]Since the 1990s, the proposal to reform the Forest Code has sparked controversy among ruralists and environmentalists.[ 4]The project that resulted in the current text was processed for 12 years in the Chamber of Deputies and was prepared by deputy Sérgio Carvalho (PSDB of Rondônia).[4]In 2009, deputy Zini from PCdoB was appointed rapporteur of the project, having issued a report favorable to the law in 2010.[4]The Chamber of Deputies approved the project for the first time on May 25, 2011, forwarding it to the Federal Senate. On December 6, 2011, the Federal Senate approved it by 59 votes against 7 Aldo Rebelo's project (in the Senate, the project acquired the name "Law of the Chamber nº 30 of 2011")[4][5] On April 25, 2012, the Chamber approved an amended version of the law, even more favorable to the ruralists, who celebrated.[6]In May 2012, President Dilma Rousseff vetoed 12 points of the law and proposed the amendment of 32 other articles."[7] After Congress approved the "New Forest Code", NGOs, activists and Social movements organized the "Veta Dilma" movement, calling for a full veto of the Bill.[4

Brazilian criminal justice is ...

Introduction

Historical background

Civil law came to Brazil with the Empire of Brazil.

Originally a plantation economy, Brazil abolished slavery in several stages during the 19th century.

Constitution of Brazil

Hamilton, Brian, et al. Brazilian Political Corruption: An Analysis of the Cardoso-Lula-Rousseff Era - System of Patronage Dating Back to Colonial Brazil and Military Dictatorship with a Melting Pot of Political Parties. N.p., Amazon Digital Services LLC - KDP Print US, 2018.

Principles

Further information (in Portuguese): Principles of criminal law in Brazil

Current outlook

Main article: Crime in Brazil

Further information: pt:Criminalidade no Brasil

Police cars of the Polícia do Estado de São Paulo in 2017

Crime in Brazil involves an elevated incidence of violent and non-violent crimes. Brazil's homicide rate was 21.26 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Brazil has one of the highest number of intentional homicides in the world with 57,358 in 2018. In recent years, the homicide rate in Brazil has begun to decline. The homicide rate was 20.89 per 100,000 in 2019 with 43,073 killings, down from 30.59 per 100,000 with 63.788 killings in 2017.

Brazil rates second in illegal drug trade.

Structure

Main article: Judiciary of Brazil

Further information: Federal courts of Brazil

The Judiciary of Brazil is the group of public entities designated by the Brazilian constitution to carry out the country's judicial functions.

The topic of the structure of the Brazilian judiciary is largely covered already at the Main article, and this top-level section may not need as many subsections as are indicated below, but this is a proposed substructure, if it does:)

Ministry of Justice

Main article: Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Brazil)

Further information: pt:Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública (Brasil)

The Ministry of Justice was created under the Empire of Brazil, through the decree of 3 July 1822, by Pedro I of Brazil, como Secretaria de Estado dos Negócios da Justiça.(pt)

Under Article 2 of the current Federal Constitution, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security cannot interfere in the judiciary branch.

• caput (?) of article 144 of the Federal Constitution.

Judiciary

The 92 courts of the Brazilian judiciary

	State		Federal
Superior courts		0	Supreme Federal Court STF	1
			Federal superior courts STJ TSE TST STM	4
Common justice	Court of Justice TJ	27	Federal Regional Courts TRF1 .. TRF6	6
Specialized justice	Court of Military Justice	3	Electoral Justice Courts TRE	27
	TJM		Regional Labor Courts TRT	24
Total		30		62

Main article: Judiciary of Brazil

The Judiciary of Brazil is the group of public entities designated by the Brazilian constitution to carry out the country's judicial functions.

The Federal government of Brazil is defined by the 1988 constitution which defines a tripartite separation of powers into the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. Aside from those, the country also has the Public Ministry which acts autonomously and has in the past been referred to as the country's fourth branch.

In terms of jurisdiction, the main division is between common justice (Portuguese: Justiça Comum) and specialized justice (Justiça Especializada). Common justice, composed of federal and state justices (and the Federal District's own justice), handles most civil and criminal cases. Specialized justice, composed of electoral, military and labor justices, handles more specialized cases which also have their own specific procedures.

Article 92 of the Constitution divides the judiciary into nine organs: four individual superior courts (STF, STJ, TST, CNJ), four types of courts and judges (federal regional, labor, electoral, military), and courts and judges at the state level, including the Federal District and the territories.

There is no judicial organization at the municipality level.

National Justice Council

Main article: National Justice Council

The National Council of Justice (CNJ) is an administrative and oversight organ of the Brazilian Judiciary created by constitutional amendment in 2004 as a part of judicial reform. Among its responsibilities are ensuring that the judicial system remains autonomous, conducting disciplinary proceedings against members of the Judiciary, and compiling and publishing statistics on the Brazilian court system. The Council has nationwide jurisdiction over all courts except the Supreme Federal Court, but makes no rulings on cases and does not review judgements of other courts. Its fifteen members are chosen by the Supreme Federal Court for two-year terms.

Superior courts

Article 92 of the Constitution named five superior courts. They are: the Supreme Federal Court, the Superior Court of Justice, the Superior Labor Court, the Superior Electoral Court, and the Superior Military Court. Magistrates who make up these courts are called ministers.

Supreme Federal Court

Main article: Supreme Federal Court

The Supreme Federal Court is the constitutional court of Brazil. An attempt was made without success at the Constitutional Assembly of 1988 to create this court, and again in 1992 as part of the greater push for judiciary reform. It finally became law 12 years later.

In May 2009 The Economist called the Supreme Federal Court

"the most overburdened court in the world, thanks to a plethora of rights and privileges entrenched in the country's 1988 constitution (...) till recently the tribunal's decisions did not bind lower courts. The result was a court that is overstretched to the point of mutiny. The Supreme Court received 100,781 cases last year."

Superior Court of Justice

Main article: Superior Court of Justice (Brazil)

Superior Court of Justice in Brasília

The Superior Court of Justice (Portuguese: Superior Tribunal de Justiça, also known as STJ, IPA: [ˌɛsiteˈʒɔtɐ]) is the highest appellate court in Brazil for non-constitutional issues regarding federal law. The STJ also has original jurisdiction over some cases. Its jurisdiction is provided for in Article 105 of the Brazilian Constitution.

Superior Labor Court

Main article: Superior Labor Court

The Superior Labor Court (Portuguese: Tribunal Superior do Trabalho, TST), is the highest Brazilian appellate court for labor law issues. Its headquarters are located in Brasilia, near the American Embassy.

It is one of the five high courts in Brazil, the highest instance in the Brazilian federalized labor courts system, which includes the Regional Labor Courts (Tribunais Regionais do Trabalho - TRT's), at common appeal level, and the Trial Labor Courts (Varas do Trabalho) in the first instance.

Brazil labor reform (2017)

[1]

Superior Electoral Court

Main articles: Superior Electoral Court and Regional Electoral Courts

The Superior Electoral Court (Brazilian Portuguese: Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, TSE) is the highest body of the Brazilian Electoral Justice, which also comprises one Regional Electoral Court (Brazilian Portuguese: Tribunal Regional Eleitoral, TRE) in each of the 26 states and the Federal District of the country, as determined by the Article 118 of the Constitution of Brazil.

Superior Military Court

Further information: Superior Military Court

The second instance of the federal military justice is the Superior Military Court (Superior Tribunal Militar), which acts as an appellate court for the Councils of Justice and also for specific appeals from the second instance of the state military justice.

Federal Regional Courts

Main article: Federal Regional Courts

The Regional Federal Courts (in Portuguese, Tribunais Regionais Federais, commonly called TRFs) are the courts of appeal in the Federal Courts of Brazil, the second instance courts of the Brazilian federal justice system, responsible not only for appeals of trial court decisions, but also for writs of security, habeas corpus, and habeas data against acts by federal judges, motions to set aside judgments, criminal revisions, and conflicts of jurisdiction. Article 108 of the Brazilian Constitution defines the jurisdiction of the Federal Regional Courts.

They have a varied composition, but the number of judges is defined by law. One fifth are chosen by lawyers with 10 years experience or more, as well as by members of the Public Prosecutor's Office, also known as the "Federal Public Ministry" (Ministério Público Federal) with ten years experience or more. The rest of the judges are appointed through the promotion of federal judges with over five years experience, by longest service time and by merit, alternately.

In each tribunal is a Regional Office for Internal Affairs of Federal Justice (Corregedoria Regional da Justiça Federal), responsible for corrections, inspections, and investigations at first instance. The internal affairs offices are also in charge of hiring processes, and instruction towards a uniformization of jurisdictional activity and forensic service. They are each run by a regional director, with a possible vice-director.

State courts

Further information: Law of Brazil § State-level judiciary

Excerpting all of this may be too much for this section; we probably just want to have a summary of this here:

Trial courts

Each state territory is divided into judicial districts named comarcas, which are composed of one or more municipalities. The 27 Courts of Justice have their headquarters in the capital of each state and have jurisdiction only over their State territories. The Federal District only presents the federal-level judicial branch. Each comarca has at least one trial court, a court of first instance. Each court of first instance has a law judge and a substitute judge. The judge decides alone in all civil cases and in most criminal cases. Only intentional crimes against life are judged by jury. The judges of the courts are nominated after a selection process. There are specialized courts of first instance for family litigation or bankruptcy in some comarcas. Judgments from these district courts can be the subject of judicial review following appeals to the courts of second instance.

Courts of justice

The highest court of a state judicial system is its court of second instance, the Courts of Justice. In each Brazilian state there is one Court of Justice (Tribunal de Justiça in Portuguese). Courts of Justice are courts of appeal, meaning they can review any decisions taken by the trial courts, and have the final word on decisions at state level, though their decisions may be overturned by the federal courts. Some states, such as São Paulo and Minas Gerais, used to have a Court of Appeals (Tribunal de Alçada in Portuguese) which had different jurisdiction. But the 45th Constitutional Amendment to the Brazilian Constitution, in its article four, decreed their extinction in order to simplify the second instance structure.

Second instance judgments are usually made by three judges, called desembargadores. These Courts are divided into civil chambers, which judge civil cases, and criminal chambers. Judges of the Courts of Justice overview one another. A Court can expel any judge who has displayed unethical behavior.

Here are three sources with content on state courts.

Regional electoral courts

Further information: pt:Tribunais Regionais Eleitorais

Regional Electoral Court (Portuguese: Tribunal Regional Eleitoral, TRE) is the judicial body that is in charge of elections at the state level in Brazil. There are 27 TREs, one for each Brazilian state, plus one for the Federal District.

According to law, the regional courts are responsible for control and inspection of the whole electoral process in their jurisdiction, from the registration of regional branches of political parties, to the production of reports and electoral maps during vote counting.

The regional courts are responsible for voter registration, for constitution of electoral districts and for reporting the results. The regional courts also settle disputes regarding elections and handle appeals of the decisions of the electoral judges.

Public prosecution

Head office of the Prosecutor General of the Brazilian Republic.

Old building of Public Ministry in Porto Alegre.

The Public Prosecutor's Office (Portuguese: Ministério Público, lit. "Public Ministry", often abbreviated "MP") is the Brazilian body of independent public prosecutors at both the federal (Ministério Público da União) and state level (Ministério Público Estadual). It operates independently from the three branches of government. It was once referred to by constitutional lawyer and former president Michel Temer as a "Fourth Branch". The Constitution of 1988 divides the functions of the Public Prosecutor's Office into three different bodies: the Public Procurator's Office, the Public Defender's Office and the Public Prosecutor's Office itself, each one of them an independent body. In addition to that, the new Constitution created the Federal Court of Accounts (Tribunal de Contas da União), which is also autonomous in its functions.

There are three levels of public prosecutors, according to the jurisdiction of the courts before which they perform their duties. There are the federal prosecutors (procuradores da República) who bring cases before judges in lower courts; the appellate federal prosecutors (Procuradores Regionais da República); and the superior federal prosecutors (Subprocuradores Gerais da República). The Prosecutor General (Procurador Geral da República) heads the federal body and brings cases before the Supreme Federal Court, which handles final judicial reviews and criminal offenses committed by federal legislators, members of the cabinet, and the President of Brazil. At the state level, the body usually has three divisions: deputy state prosecutors (Promotores de Justiça Substitutos); state prosecutors before the lower courts (Promotores de Justiça Titulares); and appellate state prosecutors (Procuradores de Justiça). There are also military prosecutors (promotores militares) whose duties are related to State Military Police Corps and Military Firefighter Corps.

The main job of prosecutors in Brazil is to uphold justice. As such, it is their duty to bring criminal charges and try criminal cases, but also to request acquittal of charges if during a trial they become convinced of a defendant's innocence. Prosecutors have the last word on whether criminal charges are filed, except in those rare cases in which Brazilian law permits civil prosecution. In those cases, the prosecutor acts as custos legis and ensures that justice is indeed delivered.

It is also mandatory that a Prosecutor to be part of litigation related to underage minors.

Although the law allows prosecutors to conduct criminal investigations, they only do so in major cases, usually where there has been wrongdoing involving the police or public officials. They are also in charge of supervising police work and police investigations. The power prosecutors have to conduct criminal investigations is controversial and, although judges, prosecutors and the general population favor it generally, it is being contested before the Supreme Federal Court. In addition to prosecuting crimes, Brazilian prosecutors are also authorized, among others, by the Brazilian constitution to bring action against private individuals, commercial enterprises and the Union, state, Federal District, and the municipal governments, in the defense of minorities, the environment, consumers and the civil society in general.

Federal Prosecution Office (MPF) database, the Car Wash investigation resulted in 361 convictions at first instance and billions of dollars in fines and financial settlements with companies involved.

Public defenders

• pt:Defensor público – about the general topic, applying to any country
• The pt:Defensoria Pública da União (DPU) is an autonomous body that ensures the constitutional duty to guarantee everyone access to legal defense, regardless of their means
• pt:Defensoria Pública do Estado – appears to be a stub duplicate of pt:Defensoria Pública da União that should be merged with it
• pt:Defensoria Pública do Brasil – autonomous body of the state; overlaps others, probably a superset or nearly another duplicate

Police forces

There are three national police forces in Brazil: the Federal Police, Federal Highway Police, and the National Force.

Federal Police

Main article: Federal Police of Brazil

The Department of Federal Police (Portuguese: DPF) is a federal law enforcement agency of Brazil and one of the three national police forces. The other two are the Federal Highway Police, and the National Force. From 1944 to 1967 it was called the Federal Public Safety Department (Portuguese: Departamento Federal de Segurança Pública).

The Federal Police Department is responsible for combating crimes against federal institutions, international drug trafficking, terrorism, cyber-crime, organized crime, public corruption, white-collar crime, money laundering, immigration, border control, airport security and maritime policing. It is subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

2023 Brazilian Congress attack

Military Police

Main article: Military Police (Brazil)

Military Police are the uniformed preventive state police of the states and of the Federal District of Brazil. The Military Police units are the main ostensive police force at the state level and are responsible for policing and maintaining the public order. Their formations, rules and uniforms vary depending on the state. Investigative work and forensics are undertaken by the Civil Police of each state.

With the fall of the Empire, the First Brazilian Republic adopted a constitution based on the United States' one, where the federal states have a large degree of autonomy. The Police Corps began to be administered by the states and became small state armies, with infantry, cavalry, artillery, and later, even air forces. This danger to national security remained until the end of World War II, with the deposition of the dictatorial government of Getúlio Vargas.

After World War II, the Military Police became a more "traditional" police force, similar to a gendarmerie, subject to the states.

National Police

Agents of the National Public Security Force active.

Main article: National Public Security Force

The National Public Security Force (Portuguese: Força Nacional de Segurança Pública) was created in 2004 and is headquartered in Brasília, in the Federal District, as a joint cooperation of various Brazilian Public Safety forces, co-ordinated by the National Secretariat of Public Security (Portuguese: Secretaria Nacional de Segurança Pública - SENASP), of the Ministry of Justice. It was created during the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, as a concept developed by then Minister of Justice, Márcio Thomaz Bastos.

The National Force is composed of the most qualified civil and military police personnel, military firefighters and experts loaned from each of the states of Brazil. It is deployed in cases of major security crisis to augment local security forces by the request of local authorities.

Pacifying Police Unit

Civil Police

Main article: Brazilian Civil Police

The Civilian Police are agencies of the public administration of the states and of the Federal District of Brazil, whose function is, under Article 144 of the Federal Constitution of 1988, public security and the preservation of the public order, the safety of the people and of the patrimony.

Each of the states and the Federal District has its own civilian police department, which carries out detective work, forensics and criminal investigation, acting as a state bureau of investigation, while the "military police" carry out preventive police duties.

It aims at the exercise of functions of judiciary police and the exercise of activities of administrative and security police, which are indispensable to the preservation of the juridical order, to the (promotion of the) harmonic life of the community, and to guarantee citizens' rights and liberty.

Police helicopter - Rio de Janeiro

Correctional system

Prisons and detention centers

Only China and the United States have larger person populations than Brazil. Its 811,000 inmates are a result of a 170% increase in incarceration between 2000 and 2015. Massive overcrowding has resulted, in a prison system where conditions are deplorable by tradition.

Prison violence frequently spills over to the outside world.

Juvenile offender facilities

See also: pt:Maioridade penal no Brasil

Youths are not punished under the penal code, but under the Brazilian Statute of the Child and Adolescent.

While some politicians, notably Sergio Cabral, have argued for lowering the age of criminal responsibility from the current eighteen, in a get-tough-on-crime measure, opponents have so far prevented this.

Inciardi JA, Surratt HL. Children in the streets of Brazil: drug use, crime, violence, and HIV risks. Subst Use Misuse. 1998 Jun;33(7):1461-80. doi: 10.3109/10826089809069809. PMID: 9657412.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9657412/

Rehabilitation programs

See also: pt:Reabilitação (penalogia)

Legislation

Penal Code

Main article: Penal code of Brazil

The current Penal Code of Brazil (Portuguese: Código Penal brasileiro) was promulgated in 1940, during the Estado Novo regime, and has been in effect since January 1, 1942. It is the third codification of criminal law in the country's history, succeeding those of 1830 and 1890. One notable feature of the document is the inclusion of libel as a crime.

After the end of the Vargas Era in 1945–46, a new constitution was created, but the Penal Code of 1940 was not abolished. There was an unsuccessful attempt to replace it with a new one in 1969, during the military government. An extensive reform of the Code was proposed in 1973 and successively postponed until it was revoked in 1978. Another commission to overhaul the Code was formed in 1980. The reform finally took place in 1984, one year before the end of the military government.

Recent modifications include a redefinition of "sexual crimes" in 2009, and the inclusion of feminicide in 2015.

Code which defines crimes, establishes punishments, and so on.

Code of criminal procedure

Further information (in Portuguese): Brazilian Code of Criminal Procedure

Code which defines criminal procedure: the role of police, prosecutors, courts, investigation, arrest, rights of defendants, rules of evidence, trial procedure, judgments, and so on.

The Brazilian Code of Criminal Procedure (CPP) governs Brazilian criminal proceedings. The National Congress legislates on criminal procedure. Its purpose is to organize the system of criminal justice originating in the penal Code of Brazil and other miscellaneous legislation.

The current code was written by Francisco Campos and instituted by decree-law No. 3,689 of 1941, by then President Getúlio Vargas, with 811 articles. It went into effect 1 January 1942.

Code reform

The current Code of Criminal Procedure, in force since the Third Brazilian Republic (Estado Novo) period, and the 1088 Brazilian Constitution. Some legislative changes were made in 2008, but the Senate, dissatisfied, established a committee to develop a new Code, whose draft was delivered on 22 April 2009.

Special criminal laws

The Comissão parlamentar de inquérito, (Parliamentary investigative commission), or parliamentary commission of inquiry. For example, "CPI da Petrobras" ("Petrobras CPI"). See #CPI da Petrobras.

Drug laws

Further information: pt:Lei de Drogas and pt:Guerra às drogas no Brasil

Brazil rates second in illegal drug trade.

Brazilian Amazon at risk of being taken over by mafia, ex-police chief warns: Alexandre Saraiva gives alert on organised crime in region ahead of anniversary of killings of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira, Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro and Jonathan Watts in Altamira The Guardian 1 Jun 2023.

Organized crime laws

Further information: pt:Crime organizado and pt:Quadrilha (crime)

The Dark Side of Competition: Organized Crime and Violence in Brazil GIMENEZSTAHLBERG-DISSERTATION-2021.pdf (7.463Mb) Date 2021-10-28 Author Gimenez Stahlberg, Stephanie 0000-0002-3739-0351

++++

Known prison gangs

• São Paulo’s Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC)
• Rio de Janeiro’s Comando Vermelho
• Família do Norte (FDN) controls the lucrative drug trading route through the Amazon.

Cybercrime laws

Further information: pt:Crime_informático

Estelionato link=pt:Estelionato

Estelionato ("confidence game") is the crime of obtaining for oneself or someone else an unlawful advantage (vantagem ilícita) to the detriment of others, by misleading someone by deception or any other fraudulent means. One of several crimes that are considered a "#Crime contra crime contra o patrimônio". See #Penal Code Article 171.

Estelionato has a secondary meaning of "phishing" in the context of e-mail spam.

Criminal procedure

Further information: pt:Código de Processo Penal brasileiro and pt:Direito processual penal

Comparative law and justice/Brazil - Wikiversity A newly adopted law introduced 'rewarded collaboration' (Colaboração premiada) a type of plea bargaining involving sentence reductions for defendants who cooperate in investigations. Costa's deposition showed which political parties controlled Petrobras.

Arrest and detention

Further information: pt:Prisão preventiva and pt:Prisão temporária

Translation note: prisão not only means jail, prison, imprisonment; but also "arrest".

Prisão preventiva

see pt:Prisão preventiva

Roughly, "preventive detention". Prisão preventiva is a pre-trial, precautionary detention defined by CPP §311–316. pre-trial remand.

Prisão temporária

see pt:Prisão temporária

precautionary detention, which may be used in the investigation of a serious crime. A 1989 law replaced the former prisão por averiguação (investigatory detention) which was found to be contrary to fundamental rights defined in the 1988 charter. Only used in certain high crimes where the subject might impede the investigation if not detained, or where they have no fixed address or their identity cannot be established.

Pre-trial proceedings

Pre-trial detainees make up nearly 40 percent of the prisoners in Brazilian prisons. Less than half of these prisoners are eventually convicted.

Trial process

Roles of primary actors

Prosecutors

Further information: pt:Ministério Público no Brasil

Old building of Public Ministry in Porto Alegre.

There are three levels of public prosecutors, according to the jurisdiction of the courts before which they perform their duties. There are the federal prosecutors (procuradores da República) who bring cases before judges in lower courts; the appellate federal prosecutors (Procuradores Regionais da República); and the superior federal prosecutors (Subprocuradores Gerais da República). The Prosecutor General (Procurador Geral da República) heads the federal body and brings cases before the Supreme Federal Court, which handles final judicial reviews and criminal offenses committed by federal legislators, members of the cabinet, and the President of Brazil. At the state level, the body usually has three divisions: deputy state prosecutors (Promotores de Justiça Substitutos); state prosecutors before the lower courts (Promotores de Justiça Titulares); and appellate state prosecutors (Procuradores de Justiça). There are also military prosecutors (promotores militares) whose duties are related to State Military Police Corps and Military Firefighter Corps.

The main job of prosecutors in Brazil is to uphold justice. As such, it is their duty to bring criminal charges and try criminal cases, but also to request acquittal of charges if during a trial they become convinced of a defendant's innocence. Prosecutors have the last word on whether criminal charges are filed, except in those rare cases in which Brazilian law permits civil prosecution. In those cases, the prosecutor acts as custos legis and ensures that justice is indeed delivered.

Although the law allows prosecutors to conduct criminal investigations, they only do so in major cases, usually where there has been wrongdoing involving the police or public officials. They are also in charge of supervising police work and police investigations. The power prosecutors have to conduct criminal investigations is controversial and, although judges, prosecutors and the general population favor it generally, it is being contested before the Supreme Federal Court. In addition to prosecuting crimes, Brazilian prosecutors are also authorized, among others, by the Brazilian constitution to bring action against private individuals, commercial enterprises and the Union, state, Federal District, and the municipal governments, in the defense of minorities, the environment, consumers and the civil society in general.

Others

Further information (in Portuguese): Expert witness in Brazil

In Brazil, an expert criminal witness (perito criminal) is a public servant, police officer or not, who may play a legal role in a criminal trial. Specialized in finding or providing technical or expert evidence through scientific analysis of traces left behind in the commission of a crime. Crime scene experts analyze crime scenes, identifying, recording, collecting, interpreting and storing evidence, and are responsible for establishing the dynamics and suspected perpetrators of crimes and providing the evidence that will be used during criminal proceedings.

Challenges and issues

Brazil's colonial past as a plantation economy built on forced labor continues to permeate its society today and contributes to an otherization of labour.

Amazon

Police losing narco war in deadly Amazon region where duo disappeared: A key police outpost lies in ruins after a daring raid – a sign of the growing danger on an increasingly lucrative smuggling route, Tom Phillips and Dan Collyns, 16 Jun 2022 13 Jan 2023

Impunity

Political Capture in the Petrobras Corruption Scandal: The Sad Tale of an Oil Giant Monica Arruda de Almeida and Bruce Zagaris The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs Vol. 39, No. 2, Lights Out For Oil? The Climate After Paris (SUMMER 2015), pp. 87-99 (13 pages) Published By: The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Political Capture in the Petrobras Corruption Scandal: The Sad Tale of an Oil Giant Media Leaks and Corruption in Brazil: The Infostorm of Impeachment and the Lava-Jato Scandal], Damgaard, Mads Bjelke, Taylor & Francis, 2018.

Caixa 2 slush fund (lit. "cashbox two") unrecorded funds typically used as a slush fund for bribery or money laundering.

Overcrowding in prisons

Mass incarceration and overcrowding created a fertile ground for the spread of prison gangs and the related cocaine trade through the amazon

"Brazil's prison violence is legendary" according to NPR. "The homicide rate for inmates is six times higher than the national average." Only some prisoners are faced with it however, since those that meet certain criteria are guaranteed a secure cell of their own and sometimes even house arrest.

Carandiru Penitentiary

Tracking the spread of tuberculosis in Brazilian prisons Tracking the spread of tuberculosis in Brazilian prisons: Stanford infectious disease expert Jason Andrews has spent years studying the spread of tuberculosis in crowded Brazilian prisons and surrounding communities — an overlooked global health crisis.

December 16, 2021 - By Krista Conger two rival gangs of drug trafficking, the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and the Família do Norte (NDF) (allied to the Comando Vermelho (CV)) clashed in what was considered the most violent massacre in the history of the Brazilian prison system since the slaughter of Carandiru (1992).

Corruption and police misconduct

“THE RISK IS WELL PAID LOL”: Brazilian Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Gave Secret Talk to Bankers and Took Money From a Company He Was Investigating, The Intercept

Corruption is so prevalent in Brazil that it has developed a specialized vocabulary. For example the verb malufar, to hsteal public money is derived from a politician legendary for graft the verb malufar was created, meaning "to steal public money", was coined from the family name of Paulo Maluf, a long-time politician notorious both for his graft and his impunity.

Undue advantage

{{defn |

see vantagem indevida, corrupção ativa, corrupção passiva

Illicit funds. Literally, "undue advantage" is a literal translation of vantagem indevida, from a type of corruption called Recebimento de vantagem indevida: literally, "Receipt of undue advantage" (or "illicit", "improper", "unfair", "unjustifiable", etc.) advantage (or "benefit", "profit", "gain", etc.) This is a form of corruption, either active (corrupção ativa) or passive (corrupção passiva) involving payment or receipt of improper advantage (economic or otherwise) or the promise of it, from someone in public office, or before or after their term of office if related to their function while in office. The term comes up in several places in the CPP, including article 217 (regarding corrupção passiva), article 316 (concussão), article 333 (corrupção ativa), and others.

Slow judicial process

Further information: pt:Morosidade da justiça

Inequality and access to justice

"...members of Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right government portrayed the crime as the fruit of a local conflict unconnected to the devastation inflicted on the Amazon by his anti-environmental policies and dismantling of Indigenous protections."

Source: O mito da justiça penal igualitária no Brasil

Human rights concerns

Further information: Human rights in Brazil

Recent reforms and initiatives

Constitutional and legislative reforms since the late 1980s have greatly strengthened the judicial system in Brazil, enabling successful prosecution of major corruption cases. The reforms chiefly responsible for this new power in the judiciary include the introduction of plea bargaining, creation of new institutions with oversight power over the judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's Office; competitive, merit-based selection of judges and prosecutors; greater autonomy for the Federal Public Ministry and the Federal Police, and greater access to public office for citizens.

Some of these reforms are incorporated in the 1988 Brazilian Constitution and some stem from legislative initiatives. These have led to huge improvements in the efficiency of the system, especially since the 1990s, and have enabled very major crimial investigations to take place, such as Operation Car Wash which discovered widespread, major corruption and led to the levy of three billion dollars in fines against major corporations, and the arrest of hundreds of people, including numerous politicians up to the highest levels, including governors, senators, and two presidents, in the largest scandal in the country's history, which received worldwide attention.

Anti-corruption measures

Acordo de leniência: a leniency agreement between a company and legal authorities. An agreement a company enters into with law authorities, to reduce their exposure to fines for criminal activity in exchange for something; typically an agreement to assist in investigations. Part of the #Anti-Corruption Act.[1][2] Chapter 5 of the #Anti-corruption Act provides the legal underpinning for companies to enter into leniency agreements with the authorities.[3] Similar to #Delação premiada in its plea bargaining aspect, but as a leniency accord deals with a company's assets not its employees. see #Odebrecht leniency agreement.

Anti-Corruption Act aliases: Clean Company Act; Law no. 12.846/2013 law enacted in 2014 targeting corrupt practices in Brazil. It defines civil and administrative penalties, as well as the possibility of reductions in penalties for cooperation with law enforcement under a written #Acordo de leniência (Leniency agreement). see #Lei anticorrupção

International cooperation and extradition

Bilateral and multilateral agreements

Anderson Torres

Extradition process

does not usually extradite citizens born in Brazil

1961 extradition treaty w/ US

Notable cases and landmark decisions

As a result of the 2023 Brazilian Congress attack Brazil's Electoral Court system has barred Jair Bolsonaro from again becoming president until at least 2030..

Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff

High-profile criminal cases

British reporter Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira disappeared in the Javari Valley region of the Amazon, a remote area known for its lawlessness.

EXPLAINER: Crime, impunity surge in Amazon’s Javari Valley AP By MAURICIO SAVARESE and FABIANO MAISONNAVE June 8, 2022

Homicide at the Brazilian Senate

Landmark Supreme Court rulings

See also: Abortion in Brazil § Anencephaly exception

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Reproductive rights

ADI 3510: In 2008, the STF declared embryonic stem cell research legal.

On April 12, 2012, the Supreme Federal Court ruled by an 8–2 vote to legalize abortion in cases of fetuses with anencephaly, saying that children with anencephaly were biologically alive but that they were not a person, and therefore had no rights. The Catholic Church and Brazilian Pro-Life movements criticized the decision of the court, saying that even with a terminal illness, children with anencephaly also had the right to life.

In ADPF 54, the STF ruled that it did not violate the constitutional right to life. This decision was significant in shaping discussions on reproductive rights in Brazil.

Minority rights

ADI 4277 and ADPF 132: In 2011, the STF ruled in favor of same-sex marriages.

In 2020, the STF made a historic ruling forcing the Bolsonaro government to protect indigenous communities from COVID.

ADPF 186 and ADI 3330 : In 2012, the STF recognized the constitutionality of affirmative action policies in higher education. The court upheld the use of racial quotas to promote diversity and address historical inequalities in ADPF 186 in April, and ADI 3330 in May of 2012.

Free speech

ADPF 187: In 2011, the STF ruled in favor of the right of people to protest in favor of the decriminalization of drugs.

Others

Noting the reluctance of the Bolsonaro administration to investigate threats against the government, the Supreme court (STF) granted itself the power to do so.

• Publicação reúne decisões emblemáticas do Supremo sobre direitos da mulher

• Publicação reúne decisões emblemáticas do Supremo sobre direitos da mulher

• 12 decisões históricas do STF, segundo Luis Roberto Barroso

See also

• Attorney General of Brazil
• Brazilian Ministry of Justice
• Brazilian Public Defender's Office
• Constitution of Brazil
• Federal Police of Brazil
• Justice ministry
• List of federal institutions of Brazil
• List of Ministers of Justice of Brazil
• Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Brazil)
• Operation Car Wash
• Politics of Brazil
• Prosecutor General of Brazil
• Public Procuracy of Brazil
• Public Prosecutor's Office of Brazil
• Wikipedia:WikiProject Brazil/PLG Glossary
• Outsourcing law in Brazil

References

Notes

Citations

See '45 crime article links from pt:Crime' at WP:Brazil-G#See also

Works cited

• CNJ (2006). "O que é o CNJ" [What is the CNJ?] (in Portuguese). Conselho Nacional de Justiça. Archived from the original on 2008-04-01. Retrieved 2008-04-29.

• Conselho Nacional de Justiça. "Tribunais - Portal CNJ" [Courts - CNJ Portal]. National Council of Justice (in Portuguese). Retrieved 28 June 2023.

• DataSelf (8 January 2021). "Conheça as diferenças e funções dos tribunais brasileiros" [Know the differences and functions of the Brazilian courts] (in Portuguese). DataSelf. Retrieved 28 June 2023.

• "O Brasil tem 91 tribunais - Para Entender Direito" [Brazil has 91 courts - Understand the Law]. Folha de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). 20 October 2010.

• Lorenzon, Geanluca (20 November 2017). "Corruption and the Rule of Law: How Brazil Strengthened Its Legal System". Cato Institute. Retrieved 8 July 2023.

External links

• STF: Direito Penal e Processual Penal: Publicações Temáticas - Versão Integral, brief blurbs on dozens of criminal law topics, from the STF
• Legislação brasileira traduzida para o Inglês Archived 7 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine – official English translations of the Constitution, and dozens of other laws
• Constituição Da República Federativa Do Brasil De 1988 (in Portuguese)
• Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil (in English) pdf; 432 pages
• Dicionário de termos jurídicos – from Folha de S.Paulo