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On Thursday (23/03), Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD) presented a bill that defines the new Impeachment Law. The proposal was prepared by a commission of jurists that was created by Pacheco himself. According to Pacheco the project increase legal certainty for the accused and give more predictability to the accusers.
The Law:
Establishes the rite of the impeachment process and updates the types of requests, in addition to the conduct of agents mentioned in the Constitution, but not defined by law.
Specifies the types of crimes of responsibility and reforms the current legislation.
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 he does not take any 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 that they present a petition that fulfills the foreseen requirements.
Our Analysis:
In Brazil, the impeachment is probably the main mechanism to punish a president. Since it grants the removal of the head of the government, it is a very powerful “legal weapon” that the opposition can use. Since the return of the democratic regime to Brazil, in 1985, two presidents have been removed through the impeachment process. Regulation could bring more predictability to such a strategic tool. However, as the major decisions, to accept or not an impeachment request, still remain in the hands of the Federal Chamber President, it remains as a political process in nature. Thus, it is still quite important for Brazilian leaders to form a strong political base in Congress and to build alliances with the Presidents of the houses.
