Minister Gilmar Mendes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), decided this Thursday (21) to extend the deadline for conciliation hearings related to the Temporal Framework Law (Law 14,701/2023), which deals with the demarcation of indigenous lands. The new limit for completing the work was set at February 28, 2025.
The decision was based on the progress recorded in the ten hearings already held since August, which, according to the minister, have promoted in-depth discussions on the topic. Gilmar Mendes also highlighted that two thematic hearings are scheduled to take place in December.
On December 16, the commission will hear experts about the anthropological reports used in the demarcation process. On the 18th, it will be the turn of representatives of indigenous communities to freely present their specific perspectives and demands.
“The complexity of the controversial issues, which led to the establishment of the Special Commission and justifies the factual in-depth investigation to which its members dedicate themselves, requires the extension of the initial period of duration of the work”, explained the minister in his decision.
The time frame thesis establishes that indigenous peoples would have the right to occupy only the lands that they occupied or were already contesting on the date of promulgation of the 1988 Constitution. In September 2023, the STF decided that the date cannot be used to define occupation traditional land use by indigenous communities.
In December, before the STF decision was published, the National Congress enacted Law 14,701/2023 and reestablished the time frame. Since then, lawsuits have been filed questioning the validity of the law and others asking the STF to declare its constitutionality.
