The aim of the author, Kim Kataguiri, is to modernize investigation methods and facilitate the collection of evidence in legal cases
The bill amends the Criminal Procedure Code to allow the use of drones to obtain evidence in criminal cases. The objective of the author of the proposal, deputy (União Brasil-SP), is modernize research methods and facilitate the collection of evidence in court cases. The text is under analysis in the Chamber of Deputies.
The proposal adds 2 articles to the Criminal Procedure Code. The 1st considers aerial photographs obtained using drones to be lawful. Thus, these images may be used as evidence in the process, depending on when they were produced and attached.
The other article exempts the taking of aerial photographs using drones from judicial authorization. The text considers information obtained in this way to be valid when they are intended to assist in locating victims, goods or objects related to criminal activities.
Kim Kataguiri says that there are currently fears about accepting evidence produced by drones because of the fine line that separates the legal from the illegal, with regard to the violation of private life and home. He declares, on the other hand, that the legal understanding is that rights are not absolute when the interest is public.
“The State must take into account that, in the application of fundamental individual and social rights, there is a need to also guarantee efficiency and security for citizens, avoiding impunity”says Kataguiri.
Regarding a court order to use drones in criminal investigations, the deputy states that the technology is available to the public and can be purchased in physical and virtual stores. “Your employment does not become a search capable of suppressing the privacy guaranteed by the inviolability of the home”says the congressman. Therefore, he states that prior judicial authorization to take aerial photographs is unnecessary.
Kataguiri also says that the Code of Civil Procedure establishes the right of the parties to employ all legal and morally legitimate means, even if not specified in the norm, to prove the truth of the facts.
He adds that the use of drones in the fight against organized crime allows the survey of areas of properties used to hide the proceeds of criminal activity.
The project will be analyzed by the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee before being voted on by the Chamber plenary. To become law, the measure must be approved by deputies and senators.
With information from
