Pacheco presents a new Impeachment Law project – 03/24/2023 – Power

The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), presented this Thursday (23) a bill that defines the new Impeachment Law. The proposal was prepared by a commission of jurists, created by Pacheco himself.

What does the project say?

Establishes the rite of the impeachment process and updates the types of requests, in addition to the conduct of agents (as in the case of magistrates) mentioned in the Constitution, but not defined by law.

It specifies the types of crimes of responsibility and reforms the current legislation to “increase legal certainty for the accused and give more predictability to the accusers”, explained Pacheco.

Defines that the presidents of the Chamber or of the Senate, competent for each case, will have to assess the complaint preliminarily within 30 days. Currently, the law does not set a deadline for the request to be considered by Congress.

Within the deadline, the President of the House will be able to archive or proceed with the process. If you do not take either initiative, the request will be automatically rejected.

Who may file a complaint for a crime of responsibility: political parties represented in the Legislative Branch; the OAB (Brazilian Bar Association); class entity or trade union organization and citizens —provided they present a petition that fulfills the foreseen requirements.

“I believe that the PL [projeto de lei]which replicates the text of the Draft of the Commission of Jurists, will serve as a starting point for the Senate and Brazilian society to discuss —with balance, seriousness and consideration— the difficult equation between respect for popular sovereignty and disapproval of conduct that violate the Constitution”, says Rodrigo Pacheco, president of the Senate.

Authorities who may respond to the process

According to the project presented by Pacheco, the following may be classified as crimes of responsibility:

• the President of the Republic and the Vice President;

• Ministers of State and Commanders of the Navy, Army and Air Force;

• the ministers of the STF (Federal Supreme Court);

• the members of the CNJ (National Council of Justice) and the CNMP (National Council of the Public Ministry);

• the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR) and the Attorney General of the Union (AGU);

• ministers of the Superior Courts and of the TCU (Union Court of Auditors);

• heads of permanent diplomatic missions;

• the governors, vice-governors and secretaries of the states and the Federal District;

• the judges and judges of the Courts of Justice of the states and of the Federal District;

• judges and members of the Military Courts and the Federal, Electoral and Labor Regional Courts;

• the members of the Audit Courts of the States, the Federal District and the Municipalities, and the Public Ministry of the Union, the states and the Federal District.

The foreseen crimes of responsibility:

• Against the existence of the Union and national sovereignty.

• Against democratic institutions, the country’s internal security and the free exercise of the constitutional powers of the Union, states, Federal District and municipalities.

• Against the exercise of fundamental rights and guarantees

• Against probity in management

• Against the budget law