Law 12.403 amends provisions of Decree-Law No. 3,689 of October 3, 1941, with changes relating to pre-trial detention, bail, provisional liberty, and other precautionary measures. In parallel, there were two discussions in the National Congress: one to amend the Code as a whole and another line of thought that addressed specific points that needed reform in the code. The one that was sanctioned addresses these specific issues ([[uol news]]).
Highlights:
- Preventive detention may only be applied to crimes with a penalty of four years or more (cannot exceed 180 days).
- Public outcry generated by the crime can no longer serve as justification for detention, which will only be imposed if other precautionary measures are inadequate or insufficient. (At least on paper it has always been this way, so only time will tell!)
See some of the main points under discussion obtained from the website UOL Notícias Cotidiano. Text: Camila Campanerut (Commented by me)
| Handcuffs | The use of force, as well as handcuffs, is prohibited at the time of arrest. Their use is only allowed in cases of resistance or attempted escape by the detainee (Only works for the rich, the poor get the rough treatment) |
| Wiretaps | They will only be authorized in cases of crimes punishable by more than two years, except for the crime of gang formation. In general, the duration of the interception should not exceed two months, but may reach one year or more when referring to a continuous crime (A politician who steals little by little will not have his phone calls recorded). |
| Jury | Jurors can talk to each other during a trial in the Jury Court, except during the instruction and debates. However, each juror's vote remains secret and is cast by ballot. (This was expected, I hope it's not misused) |
| Police Inquiry | It will now be immediately communicated to the Public Prosecutor's Office. The intention is for it to be more closely monitored by the MP, allowing for closer collaboration between the police and the prosecution body (They couldn't handle the workload before, let's see now that it's increased) |
| Interrogation | The interrogation is now treated as a means of defense and no longer as evidence. Thus, it becomes a right of the investigated or accused, who, before the interrogation, must be informed of the full content of the facts imputed to them and meet in a private location with their defense counsel. Furthermore, the authority responsible for the interrogation may not offer any advantage to the interrogated person in exchange for a confession, if they do not have legal grounds to do so. Interrogation of a detained defendant via videoconference is also now permitted, in order to prevent risks to public safety or to enable the participation of a sick defendant or for any other reason (It's getting cooler to be a rich criminal every day. They don't make laws that benefit the worker or the poor thief. If you're poor, it doesn't matter if you're a thief or a worker, the treatment is the same.) |
| Victim Treatment | The crime victim must be notified by the authorities about: the arrest or release of the alleged perpetrator of the crime; the conclusion of the police inquiry and the filing of charges; the dismissal of the investigation and the conviction or acquittal of the accused. The victim may also obtain copies and documents from the inquiry and criminal proceedings, provided they are not under seal. They may also provide statements on a different day than the one stipulated for the perpetrator of the crime and wait in a separate location from them (This should work for homicide victims, as others are rarely contacted) |
| Bail | The bail amount increases from one to one hundred minimum wages to one to 200 minimum wages for criminal offenses where the maximum penalty for deprivation of liberty is eight years or more. For other criminal offenses, the fixed amount remains the same (In practice, this doesn't mean much. For the rich, 200 minimum wages is nothing; for the poor, one is more than they can afford.) |
| Appeals | It limits the number of declaratory motions to only one in each instance; previously, there were no restrictions against the successive submission of this type of appeal, which could prolong the process until its statute of limitations expired (There should be a law to prevent judges from writing nonsense, not one that limits the number of times lawyers can ask for explanations) |
| Guarantee Judge | Will act only during the investigation phase, with the objective of controlling the legality of the actions of the Judicial Police and guaranteeing the rights of the investigated. Previously, the same judge who worked on the investigation phase was the one who issued the sentence in the first instance (In the interior where there is only one judge, this will not work) |
| Procedural Acceleration | The maximum deadline for holding the instruction and judgment hearing increases from 60 to 90 days, to align it with the maximum deadlines for preventive detention (The deadlines increase a little each day, and they even release the accused so they don't have to wait for the judiciary's good faith in judging them. So, we'll have to wait and see; it takes longer every day). |
| Seizure of Assets | The figure of the "judicial administrator" of seized assets and assets declared unavailable is created (This already existed in Civil Procedure) |
Law 12.403 amends provisions of Decree-Law No. 3,689 of October 3, 1941, with changes relating to pre-trial detention, bail, provisional liberty, and other precautionary measures. In parallel, there were two discussions in the National Congress: one to amend the Code as a whole and another line of thought that addressed specific points that needed reform in the code. The one that was sanctioned addresses these specific issues ([[uol news]]).
Highlights:
- Preventive detention may only be applied to crimes with a penalty of four years or more (cannot exceed 180 days).
- Public outcry generated by the crime can no longer serve as justification for detention, which will only be imposed if other precautionary measures are inadequate or insufficient. (At least on paper it has always been this way, so only time will tell!)
See some of the main points under discussion obtained from the website UOL Notícias Cotidiano. Text: Camila Campanerut (Commented by me)
| Handcuffs | The use of force, as well as handcuffs, is prohibited at the time of arrest. Their use is only allowed in cases of resistance or attempted escape by the detainee (Only works for the rich, the poor get the rough treatment) |
| Wiretaps | They will only be authorized in cases of crimes punishable by more than two years, except for the crime of gang formation. In general, the duration of the interception should not exceed two months, but may reach one year or more when referring to a continuous crime (A politician who steals little by little will not have his phone calls recorded). |
| Jury | Jurors can talk to each other during a trial in the Jury Court, except during the instruction and debates. However, each juror's vote remains secret and is cast by ballot. (This was expected, I hope it's not misused) |
| Police Inquiry | It will now be immediately communicated to the Public Prosecutor's Office. The intention is for it to be more closely monitored by the MP, allowing for closer collaboration between the police and the prosecution body (They couldn't handle the workload before, let's see now that it's increased) |
| Interrogation | The interrogation is now treated as a means of defense and no longer as evidence. Thus, it becomes a right of the investigated or accused, who, before the interrogation, must be informed of the full content of the facts imputed to them and meet in a private location with their defense counsel. Furthermore, the authority responsible for the interrogation may not offer any advantage to the interrogated person in exchange for a confession, if they do not have legal grounds to do so. Interrogation of a detained defendant via videoconference is also now permitted, in order to prevent risks to public safety or to enable the participation of a sick defendant or for any other reason (It's getting cooler to be a rich criminal every day. They don't make laws that benefit the worker or the poor thief. If you're poor, it doesn't matter if you're a thief or a worker, the treatment is the same.) |
| Victim Treatment | The crime victim must be notified by the authorities about: the arrest or release of the alleged perpetrator of the crime; the conclusion of the police inquiry and the filing of charges; the dismissal of the investigation and the conviction or acquittal of the accused. The victim may also obtain copies and documents from the inquiry and criminal proceedings, provided they are not under seal. They may also provide statements on a different day than the one stipulated for the perpetrator of the crime and wait in a separate location from them (This should work for homicide victims, as others are rarely contacted) |
| Bail | The bail amount increases from one to one hundred minimum wages to one to 200 minimum wages for criminal offenses where the maximum penalty for deprivation of liberty is eight years or more. For other criminal offenses, the fixed amount remains the same (In practice, this doesn't mean much. For the rich, 200 minimum wages is nothing; for the poor, one is more than they can afford.) |
| Appeals | It limits the number of declaratory motions to only one in each instance; previously, there were no restrictions against the successive submission of this type of appeal, which could prolong the process until its statute of limitations expired (There should be a law to prevent judges from writing nonsense, not one that limits the number of times lawyers can ask for explanations) |
| Guarantee Judge | Will act only during the investigation phase, with the objective of controlling the legality of the actions of the Judicial Police and guaranteeing the rights of the investigated. Previously, the same judge who worked on the investigation phase was the one who issued the sentence in the first instance (In the interior where there is only one judge, this will not work) |
| Procedural Acceleration | The maximum deadline for holding the instruction and judgment hearing increases from 60 to 90 days, to align it with the maximum deadlines for preventive detention (The deadlines increase a little each day, and they even release the accused so they don't have to wait for the judiciary's good faith in judging them. So, we'll have to wait and see; it takes longer every day). |
| Seizure of Assets | The figure of the "judicial administrator" of seized assets and assets declared unavailable is created (This already existed in Civil Procedure) |
