The Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee (CCJ) of the Chamber of Deputies approved, this Wednesday (10), the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution that proposes reducing the age of criminal responsibility to 16 years. There were 44 votes in favor and 18 against the matter.
However, the measure still will go through a long processuntil it can actually become law. O The project does not immediately go to the House plenary vote.
The next step is to creation of a temporary Special Commission by act of the Board of Directors of the Chamber, which will analyze the merits of the proposal. In this committee, parliamentarians will be able to hold public hearings, suggest additional changes to the text and vote on the final report.
If approved by the Special Committee, the text will be sent for deliberation in the Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies. As this is a proposed amendment to the Constitution, approval requires the minimum support of three-fifths of the deputies (308 of the 513 parliamentarians), in two rounds of voting. If approved at these stages, the matter proceeds to the Federal Senate, where it will undergo a similar rite.
History
Originally presented in May 2015 by the then deputy Gonzaga Patriota (PSB-PE) and other parliamentarians, PEC 32/2015 aimed to establish “full civil and criminal majority at 16 years of age”. Since its presentation, the proposal has remained under analysis at the CCJ to verify its constitutionality.
The PEC had at least three different rapporteurs in these 11 years and was archived by the board of directors in 2019. The debate on the text has intensified in recent months. At the end of May, the current rapporteur of the proposal in the committee, deputy Coronel Assis (PL-MT), concluded reading his opinion in favor of the legal admissibility of the matter. The final vote at the CCJ took place after the rejection of postponement requests presented by opposition parliamentarians.
Text changes
Although the original project proposed a full age of majority (civil and criminal), the rapporteur presented a substitute that preserves the current civil rules.
As a result, the political rights and civil majority of young people are not affected. Electoral registration and voting remain optional at the age of 16 and mandatory only from the age of 18.
During the processing at the CCJ, deputies in favor of the project argued that the measure meets social demands for public security and criminal liability. On the other hand, opposing parliamentarians argued that reducing the age of criminal responsibility violates fundamental rights provided for in the Constitution and defended the focus on public educational policies.
