Minister Alexandre de Moraes of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) was chosen as rapporteur for two actions that question the validity of the Dosimetry Law, promulgated this Friday, 8th, by the president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP). The rule provides for the reduction of sentences for those convicted of crimes against the Democratic Rule of Law and directly benefits former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and the January 8 defendants.
The processes that question the so-called dosimetry law reached Moraes’ office through two different paths through the Supreme Court system. The first action, presented by the Brazilian Press Association (ABI) was distributed by common draw, a free distribution mechanism used by the Court to define the rapporteur of the processes.
The second action, filed by the Psol-Rede Federation shortly after and on the same topic, was forwarded to Moraes for prevention. In this case, the system automatically directs the new process to the minister who already reports a similar action, to concentrate the analysis of cases with the same objective.
Continues after advertising
The actions question the Dosimetry Law, which amended provisions of the Criminal Execution Law and the Penal Code to insert new rules for regime progression and sentence remission for those convicted of crimes against the Democratic Rule of Law, in addition to creating a special cause for reducing sentences for crimes committed in a crowd context.
Among other points, the two actions maintain that the new law creates more favorable enforcement treatment for crimes aimed at institutional disruption in Brazil. In practice, the law validates that those convicted of attacks on democracy would receive a milder regime than the sentences applied to perpetrators of common violent crimes.
The entities also argue that the law may violate the principle of individualization of punishment, provided for in the Constitution. According to them, punishment must take into account the seriousness of each crime and the specific circumstances of each convict, instead of applying automatic rules that are the same for everyone.
In the assessment of the authors of the actions, the new rule creates automatic mechanisms to reduce sentences and facilitate the progression of the regime, without analyzing the conduct of each defendant individually.
The so-called Dosimetry Law was enacted this Friday by Alcolumbre after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s (PT) veto of the bill was overturned. One of the central points of the lawsuits filed questions the way in which the issue was assessed by the National Congress.
According to ABI and the Psol-Rede federation, there was a fragmented analysis of the veto, and as the President of the Republic vetoed the bill in its entirety, it would not be possible to reestablish only parts of the rule. The isolated selection of devices by the Congressional Bureau, they argue, would constitute a subversion of the constitutional rules that govern the matter.
Continues after advertising
The actions also indicate a violation of the principle of bicameralism. According to the applicants, the Senate made a substantial change to the text originally approved by the Chamber of Deputies, without returning the project for new deliberation by deputies.
