The report on the new impeachment law that could be voted on by the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission) in the coming weeks restricts the possibilities of requests for the deposition of authorities, but to a lesser extent than the decision of the minister of the (Supreme Federal Court) that shields members of the court.
The text was released this Friday (5) by the rapporteur, Weverton Rocha (PDT-MA), and should serve as a basis for discussion in the collegiate. Voting on a new impeachment law was the way found by the Senate to respond to Gilmar’s decision.
Under current law, until Gilmar’s decision, anyone can propose impeachment of STF ministers, and the progress of the process depends on the president of the Senate. The Supreme Court minister determined that such a request.
The measure caused a reaction in the Senate, as it reduces the House’s powers over processes for deposing STF ministers.
The report presented by Weverton stipulates that impeachment requests can be presented by political parties represented in Congress, by the OAB (Brazilian Bar Association), by professional associations and by popular initiatives that have at least 1.56 million signatures at the federal level.
The proposed rules would not only apply to STF ministers, but also to judges, members of the Public Ministry, commanders of the Armed Forces, members of the CNJ (National Council of Justice) and the CNMP (National Council of the Public Ministry), mayors, vice-mayors and municipal secretaries, in addition to authorities that are now included in the law on crimes of responsibility, such as the President of the Republic and ministers of State.
In addition to creating a dispute over the prerogatives of the Senate, the shielding decision issued on a provisional basis by Gilmar Mendes directly affected Bolsonarist interests. This political group wants to increase its bench in the Senate in the next election to be able to approve the impeachment of Supreme Court ministers.
The main target is , responsible for the process that culminated in the conviction of () to 27 years in prison.
Furthermore, the project gives a deadline for the President of the Chamber to decide on the admissibility of impeachment proceedings. It will take up to 30 working days to approve or reject – in case of rejection, the decision may be appealed to the Board of Directors of the Chamber and to the plenary. Today, the president of the Chamber has no deadline and, in practice, can hold as many impeachment requests as he wants.
The admissibility of impeachment requests by the Chamber is a preliminary step to the trial in the Senate. According to the text, it will apply to actions against the President of the Republic, the vice-president, ministers and commanders of the Armed Forces.
The project typifies new crimes of responsibility, punishing intentional conduct. Among the new types that could be applied to presidents of the Republic are buying political support and “institutional fake news”. According to a note released by the rapporteur, the first type of criminal offense would be applied to situations such as Mensalão (scandal of payments to deputies in exchange for support in the first government) and attacks on electronic voting machines during the Bolsonaro government.
In the case of members of the Judiciary, the report classifies the conduct of giving votes or decisions while outside their jurisdiction as a crime of responsibility.
The Senado CCJ president, (PSD-BA), telling Sheet that Weverton’s report will be read at the collegiate next Wednesday (10). Then, there will be a week for the committee members to analyze. In theory, the vote in the CCJ could still be in December. Afterwards, analysis is required by the plenary of the Senate and the Chamber.
Otto, however, said that the project is unlikely to be voted on this year. “It’s not for a confrontation against the Federal Supreme Court, much less against Minister Gilmar Mendes,” he said.
