Toffoli criticizes proposals to change the Civil Code: “It’s difficult to have legal certainty”

The Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Dias Toffoli criticized this Wednesday (3) the proposals to change the Brazilian Civil Code. The change in legislation is being discussed in the Senate by a commission of jurists convened by the President of the House, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG). This afternoon, the STF met to judge motions for clarification filed by companies to modulate the Court’s decision on the payment of Social Contribution on Net Profit (CSLL).

“One of the big issues we have to reflect on is legal certainty and predictability. It is evident that it is difficult to have legal certainty in a country that, every 20 years, creates a commission in Congress to review the Civil Code. There’s not even time to do the jurisprudence”, said Toffoli during the session. “And we have to learn everything again”, added the president of the Supreme Court, minister Luís Roberto Barroso.

In 2023, the STF considered that a definitive decision, the so-called “res judicata”, on taxes collected on an ongoing basis, loses its effects if the Court rules otherwise. The companies argued in the appeal that this thesis, in addition to changing jurisprudence, puts legal security at risk, according to the Supreme Court.

In this Wednesday’s session of the STF, Toffoli commented on a possible new change in the Civil Code when presenting his vote and pointed out the need to guarantee legal security in the country.

The proposals presented for the new Civil Code have been questioned by parliamentarians and entities. Among the controversial points are the definition of the unborn baby as “pre-uterine or uterine human life potential”, the prediction – without clear specification – that the father will lose parental authority in court if he subjects the child to “any type of psychological violence” and the recognition of “progressive autonomy” for children and adolescents.

Last month, the president of the Senate highlighted that the discussion is just an update “considering the new reality of technological interactions in the world”. Pacheco also stated that he has been “a victim of fake news, the most irresponsible and frivolous, stating that I would be in favor of polygamy, the removal of parental power and children’s autonomy to change sex”.

“All these lies, invented by those who are the target of police investigation and who live to harm Brazil, have as their backdrop the updating of the Brazilian Civil Code, which will be widely discussed by Congress and with the participation of the entire society”, he highlighted. the senator in a post made on social media on March 12th.