Recent elections
78-552: The Judiciary of Brazil is the group of public entities designated by the Brazilian constitution to carry out the country's judicial functions. The Federal government of Brazil is defined by the 1988 constitution which defines a tripartite separation of powers into the legislative , executive , and judicial branches of government. Aside from those, the country also has the Public Ministry which acts autonomously and has in
156-456: A court of first instance for most cases. In large judicial districts with two or more trial courts, there may be Small claims courts as well as specialized courts by subject, such as courts handling exclusively criminal cases or family litigation . Judgments from the trial courts can be the subject of judicial review following appeals to the Courts of Justice. Each court of first instance has
234-498: A federal statute disposition or when two or more second instance courts rule differently on the same federal statute. The Superior Court of Justice also has a role in the adjudication of common crimes committed by certain officials who are accorded the special status of " privileged forum " defined by the law to apply to state governors, appellate court judges, and some other positions of higher prestige in Brazil's public service, who skip
312-502: A certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation, and self-collection) and endowed with their own government and constitution, which together form the Federative Republic of Brazil . There are 26 states ( estados ) and one federal district ( distrito federal ). The states are generally based on historical, conventional borders which have developed over time. The states are divided into municipalities , while
390-611: A diverse background, with a third from federal appellate courts, a third from state-level appellate courts, and the last third hailing from the Public Ministry . The Brazilian Electoral system is controlled by the country's Judiciary, specifically the Regional Electoral Courts ( Tribunais Regionais Eleitorais ), the Superior Electoral Court ( Tribunal Superior Eleitoral ) and electoral judges, notably it does not have its own magistrature, being composed for
468-693: A foreign state or international organization and the Brazilian Federal Government, its states , the federal district and territories, or just between the internal federative units themselves and the federal government; extradition requests; injunction mandates against federal entities; and other specific cases related to the judiciary and the maintenance of the Court's authority. Its appellate jurisdiction involves: ordinary appeals of superior court decisions; extraordinary appeals ( recurso extraordinário ) of decisions of appellate courts which violate
546-601: A given portfolio) and the state attorney-general. The state legislative branch is the legislative assembly, a unicameral body composed of deputies elected by the citizens of the state. The judiciary in each of the states is composed of judges of law, who constitute the courts of first instance , and a Court of Justice , which is the court of second instance of the state and is composed of judges called desembargadores . Judges qualify through exams or are appointed. The states are divided into municipalities , which have different competences and are considered autonomous from
624-528: A judge and may have a substitute judge. The judge decides alone in civil cases and most criminal cases, except that a jury has jurisdiction over willful crimes against life (murder, attempted murder, infanticide , abortion and inducement, instigation and assistance to suicide). Constitution of Brazil Recent elections The Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( Portuguese : Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil )
702-429: A lawyer". Roberto Campos , economist, ex-senator and Minister of Planning of Brazil in the early years of the military dictatorship noted that "The OAB has achieved the feat of being mentioned three times in what he defines as the "besteirol Constitution" of 1988. According to him, "it's perhaps the only case in the world where a club of professionals has enshrined the constitutional text." The Constitution of Brazil
780-440: A new Civil Code (2002). It was the first constitution to demand severe punishment for breaches of civil liberties and rights. Consequently, Brazil later approved a law making the propagation of prejudice against any minority or ethnic group an unbailable crime. This law provided legal remedy against those who spread hate speech or those who do not treat all citizens equally. This second aspect helped disabled people to have
858-546: A reserved percentage of jobs in public service and large companies, and Afro-Brazilians to seek reparation for racism in court. Breaking with the authoritarian logic of the previous Constitution, it made unbailable crimes those of torture and of actions directed against the democratic state and the constitutional order , thus creating constitutional devices to block coups d'état of any kind. The Constitution also established many forms of direct popular participation besides regular voting, such as plebiscite, referendum and
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#1732858252727936-558: A slow judicial system. Brazil has the 30th slowest judiciary among 133 countries, according to the World Bank . This has caused the judiciary to use provisional arrests as an advance of the sentence. In 2015 more than 40% of prisoners in Brazil were provisional. A World Bank study criticized the 1988 Federal Constitution for extending the privileges of civil servants, aggravating income inequality in Brazil. Remuneration and retirement are disproportionately high according to studies. In 2015,
1014-618: A spotless reputation and notable juridical knowledge, initially suggested by the President , and after vetting and approval by the Senate, through the Commission of Constitution, Justice and Citizenship and then a vote where they must be approved by an absolute majority of all members of the Brazilian Senate to then be properly named by the President . The jurisdiction of the Court is defined by
1092-534: Is composed of nine titles, subsequently divided into chapters and then articles. The articles are in turn divided into short clauses called incisos (indicated by Roman numerals ) and parágrafos (indicated by numbers followed by §). The Constitution refers to the country as "the Union". The preamble to the Federal Constitution is a brief introductory statement that sets out the guiding purpose and principles of
1170-516: Is criticized by some. Some criticize an alleged excessive power granted to the Order of Attorneys of Brazil by the Constitution. Brazilian philosopher and journalist Hélio Schwartsman considers that the 1988 Constitution conferred "disproportionate powers" on lawyers such as "appointing judges, writing laws, proposing direct actions of unconstitutionality, defining who can and who cannot become
1248-530: Is no Labor Court, cases of labor law can be presented to the local judge. The second instance is composed of the Regional Labor Courts , organized in 22 regions over the country, most of those receiving a specific State , these Courts have jurisdiction over collective complaints on the state-level and also appellate jurisdiction over cases handled by the local judges. The Regional Labor Courts are composed of at least seven judges, unofficially given
1326-474: Is the supreme law of Brazil . It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of Brazil and the federal government of Brazil . It replaced the autocratic 1967 constitution capping 21 years of military dictatorship and establishing Brazil's 6th republic, also known as the New Republic (Nova República). Made in the light of the Brazilian transition to democracy , it resignified
1404-408: Is the highest Brazilian court for non-constitutional issues concerning both states and Federal ordinary courts, dealing mainly with matters of Common Justice. Its responsibility is to standardize the interpretation of federal in the country's territory. To achieve this purpose, the Court has a special appeal available for cases where a judgement rendered by a court of second instance conflicts with
1482-742: The Executive , the Legislative and the Judiciary , and lists the nation's main goals. One of the most important excerpts from this title is in Article 1, single paragraph, stating: All power emanates from the People, who exercise it through elected representatives or directly, under this Constitution. Title 2 states the Fundamental Safeguards. It ensures basic rights to all citizens and foreigners residing in
1560-477: The Federal District assumes the competences of both a state and a municipality. Recent elections The government of each state of Brazil is divided into executive , legislative and judiciary branches. The state executive branch is headed by a state governor and includes a vice governor, both elected by the citizens of the state. The governor appoints several secretaries of state (each one in charge of
1638-569: The Regional Labor Courts and cases regarding its own jurisdiction and the maintenance of its authority. The military justice system is divided between the federal military justice and the state military justice, the first is in charge of matters concerning the Brazilian Armed Forces . The first instance of the federal military justice are the Councils of Justice, formed by a military judge and four officers, whose positions and rank depend on
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#17328582527271716-549: The State of Grão-Pará and Rio Negro and the State of Maranhão and Piauí , which had been split from the State of Maranhão, were reincorporated into the State of Brazil in 1775, under a single governor-general. This centralization later helped to keep Brazil as a unified nation-state, avoiding fragmentation similar to that of the Spanish domains. The captaincies became provinces in 1821, during
1794-645: The Superior Labor Court ( Tribunal Superior do Trabalho ). Headquartered in Brasilia , the Superior Labor Court ( Tribunal Superior do Trabalho ) is the highest court for the Labor Justice. It is composed of 27 ministers, named by the President of Brazil after approval by the Brazilian Senate , a fifth of whom must be lawyers or members of the Public Ministry , with the rest composed of Labor Judges. Its jurisdiction involves appeals from cases already in
1872-579: The Vargas regime detached six strategic territories from the borders of the country to administer them directly: the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha (from Pernambuco), Amapá (from Pará), Rio Branco (from Amazonas), Guaporé (from Mato Grosso and Amazonas), Ponta Porã (from Mato Grosso) and Iguaçu (from Paraná and Santa Catarina ). Shortly after the war, the Brazilian constitution of 1946 returned Ponta Porã and Iguaçu to their original states. Guaporé
1950-624: The captaincies established by Portugal following the Treaty of Tordesillas which divided the World between Portugal and Spain. The first administrative divisions of Brazil were the hereditary captaincies ( capitanias hereditárias ), stretches of land granted by the Portuguese Crown to noblemen or merchants with a charter to colonize the land. The first such captaincy was the island of São João , granted in 1504 to Fernão de Loronha . The continental land
2028-422: The citizens' initiative . Examples of these democratic mechanisms were the 1993 plebiscite concerning the form of government, where the presidential system was confirmed, and the 2005 firearms and ammunition referendum . The mention of God in the preamble of the Constitution (and later on the Brazilian currency) was opposed by most leftists as incompatible with freedom of religion because it does not recognize
2106-530: The second instance , named by the President , recruited preferably from the region, with at least a fifth of those recruited from lawyers with at least ten years of experience. . The Regional Court serves mainly as an Appellate Court for cases from the Judges in the region, whose jurisdiction is defined in articles 108 and 109 of the Brazilian Constitution: As a matter of internal organization, while
2184-414: The Brazilian state, in 2017, to have stakes in more than 650 companies, involved in one-third of the national GDP. This model also created restrictions for the performance of foreign companies in several fields with harmful consequences for the country's growth. In the view of some scholars, this economic model favors patrimonialism and corruption . The Constitution is also responsible for creating
2262-527: The Constitution divides the judiciary into nine organs: There is no judicial organization at the municipality level. Created by Constitutional Amendment 45 of 2004, also known as the Judicial Reform amendment, the National Council of Justice ( Conselho Nacional de Justiça ) has the express purpose of controlling the administrative and financial performance of the judiciary and the fulfillment of
2340-481: The Country, prohibits capital punishment , defines citizenship requirements , political rights , among other regulations. Title 3 regulates the state organization. It establishes Brasília as the nation's capital, describes the rights and duties of the states, the municipalities, as well rules for the public staff. Title 4 is about the branches of government. It describes the attributes for every government branch, and
2418-566: The Crown, becoming royal captaincies. The government of the Marquis of Pombal (1750–1777) significantly centralized the administration of the Portuguese colonies. By 1759, all captaincies had been returned to the Crown, with captains becoming appointed rather than recognized by inheritance. Some captaincies were designated as captaincies-general , to which other captaincies were subordinated. In addition,
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2496-491: The Privileged Forum expired. Also criticized is the requirement of unappealable transit for the execution of the sentence. For Judge Sergio Moro , waiting for the final judgment will contribute to impunity. According to Minister Teori Zavascki after confirming a second sentence, one could no longer speak of the principle of non-culpability, since "the exceptional remedies, for the superimposition courts, do not boast
2574-701: The Regional Courts involve several States, they are internally divided between the States, with each State having its own Section, headquartered in the Capital, with Subsections defined by law spread over the cities of the State. Together with the Superior Labor Court , the Regional Labor Courts and Labor Judges compose the general Labor Justice System of Brazil, with jurisdiction over most labor cases , including collective cases regarding Trade Unions . They have no jurisdiction over civil servants, except in specific cases at
2652-558: The Superior or Regional Courts, issue Electoral IDs and grant Electoral Transfer, take action to prevent illicit actions during elections. Finally, the Electoral Juntas are composed of a Judge, who serves as president of the Junta, and two to four citizens with honest reputation. These Juntas are in charge of solving challenges and incidents regarding the counting of votes and issue Diplomas to
2730-456: The ability to review facts and evidence". In the electoral aspect, the Constitution adopted the mandatory vote. Among the 15 largest economies in the world, Brazil is the only country in which voting is mandatory. A 2014 survey showed that the mandatory vote is rejected by 61% of Brazilians. Some question whether it is democratic to compel people to vote. The Constitution adopted the social democratic model of State organization, as defined by
2808-485: The accused, councils are divided between special councils, with jurisdiction over officers and Permanent Councils, with jurisdiction over those of enlisted rank ( Praças ). The second instance of the federal military justice is the Superior Military Court ( Superior Tribunal Militar ), which acts as an appellate court for the Councils of Justice and also for specific appeals from the second instance of
2886-434: The candidates elected in municipal elections. The highest court of a state judicial system is the Court of Justice ( Tribunal de Justiça ). There are 27 Courts of Justice, one per Brazilian state , headquartered in the state capital, functioning mostly as an appellate court , and one in the federal capital. Second instance judgments are usually rendered by three judges, called desembargadores , however in specific cases
2964-443: The city of Rio de Janeiro. In 1977, the southern part of Mato Grosso became the state of Mato Grosso do Sul . In 1981, Rondônia became a state. The Brazilian constitution of 1988 created the state of Tocantins from the northern portion of Goiás, established Amapá and Roraima as states, and returned the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha to Pernambuco. The constitution thus ended all remaining territories, although it maintained
3042-557: The columnist for the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo Luiz Sérgio Henriques . For professor and lawyer Marco Aurélio Marrafon , president of the Brazilian Academy of Constitutional Law, the 1988 Brazilian Magna Carta organized the State according to the Welfare State model, in which it is intended to reconcile "the liberal component of preservation of individual rights and limitation of state power, with direct economic intervention and
3120-504: The constitution and is divided in two groups: matters of original jurisdiction, and matters of appellate jurisdiction. The difference is whether the lawsuit starts in the Court itself or reaches the court through an appeal. Matters of original jurisdiction are: direct unconstitutionality lawsuits ( Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade ); constitutional declaration lawsuits ( Ação Declaratória de Constitutionalidade ); cases of privileged venue (" foro privilegiado "); lawsuits between
3198-654: The constitution, declare unconstitutional a federal law, or involve conflicts between federal law and the laws of states and municipalities ; There are four federal superior courts, the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), the Superior Labor Court (TST), and the Superior Military Court (STM). The Superior Court of Justice ( Superior Tribunal de Justiça )
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3276-440: The courts of first instance and are judged exclusively by the Superior Court, which also is responsible for habeas corpus and other appeals filed by these public servants. It is composed of 33 ministers, chosen by the President of Brazil from three choices named by the Court itself, with prospective ministers also having to do a public Sabbath in the Senate in order to finally be named by the President , ministers must come from
3354-530: The decision may be made by a single judge. Large courts are usually divided into different sections, specialized by subject matter. The state military justice system has jurisdiction over the Auxiliary Forces, composed of the States' Military Police and Military Firefighters Corps . The State Military Justice is organized on the State-level, with the first instance having a few particularities in regard to
3432-546: The document. The text reads: We, the representatives of the Brazilian People, assembled in the National Constituent Assembly to institute a Democratic State for the purpose of ensuring the exercise of social and individual rights, liberty, security, well being, development, equality and justice as supreme values of a fraternal, pluralist and unprejudiced society, based on social harmony and committed, in
3510-500: The duties of individual judges. Its constitutional duties are to watch over the judiciary's autonomy and the maintenance of the Statue of Magistrature, ensure the constitutional principles of legality, impersonality, morality, publicity and efficiency are followed by the public administration, define aspects of the internal administration of the Judiciary, receive complaints against members of
3588-496: The federal government's deficit associated with the retirement of the approximately 1 million government employees was greater than the total registered with 33 million private pensioners. For the World Bank, civil servants are among the richest fifth of the Brazilian population. For Roberto Brant , the Federal Constitution was captured by groups of civil servants in 1988. Philosopher Fernando Schüler maintains that Brazil went against
3666-602: The final years of the Kingdom of Brazil ( united with Portugal ), and maintained that designation after independence in 1822 under the Empire of Brazil . Most internal boundaries were kept unchanged from the end of the colonial period, generally following natural features such as rivers and mountain ridges. Some changes were made to suit domestic politics (transferring the Triângulo Mineiro from Goiás to Minas Gerais , transferring
3744-550: The first governor-general of the vast Portuguese dominion in South America, known as the State of Brazil ( Estado do Brasil ). In 1621, the northern part of the dominion was detached, becoming a separate entity known as the State of Maranhão . However, captaincies continued existing under both states as regional administrations. During the Iberian Union (1580–1640), which allowed Portuguese settlers to enter Spanish domains,
3822-482: The government of the Federal District, which exercises constitutional and legal powers that are equivalent to those of the states , as well as those of the municipalities, thus simultaneously assuming all the obligations arising from them. Fernando de Noronha is not a municipality, but a state district of Pernambuco (the only state district in the country). It is governed by an administrator-general, appointed by
3900-475: The governor of Pernambuco, and a council whose members are elected by the citizens of the district. All states and the Federal District are represented in the national congress , each with three senators and between eight and 70 deputies , depending on their population. The citizens of all states and the Federal District vote for these national representatives and for president and vice president . The present states of Brazil trace their history directly to
3978-414: The grain in the 1980s: "While the world tried to adjust the State to globalization and modernize public management, Brazil bet on a super bureaucratic state in the 1988 Constitution. We offer rigid stability in the employment for civil servants, we mix careers of State with common careers of the public service, we create the law of biddings, we cast the budgets and we eliminate any space for the meritocracy in
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#17328582527274056-591: The greater push for judiciary reform. It finally became law twelve years later. STJ TSE TST STM The Supreme Federal Court ( Supremo Tribunal Federal ) is the highest body of the Brazilian Judiciary. Its main responsibility is to serve as the ultimate guardian of the Brazilian Constitution, with the roles of a constitutional court . It is composed of eleven ministers. Its ministers are chosen from citizens between 35 and 65 years of age, with
4134-477: The internal and international spheres, to the peaceful solution of disputes, promulgate, under the protection of God, this Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Title 1 is devoted to the fundamental principles of the Union. It describes the States , the municipalities and the Federal District as the indissoluble constituents of the Union. It also establishes three independent, harmonic government branches:
4212-582: The judiciary and judge disciplinary procedures against them. The historical antecedent of the council is the National Council of Magistrature ( Conselho Nacional da Magistratura ), created in 1975 with correctional powers over members of Brazilian courts, however without truly interfering in the Judiciary's autonomy. Attempts to increase this control recurred during the Constitutional Assembly of 1988, without success, and again in 1992 as part of
4290-548: The most part of magistrates from other Courts and the Judiciary. The Superior Electoral Court is composed of seven members, three chosen from the ministers of Supreme Federal Court , two chosen from ministers of the Superior Court of Justice and two chosen from lawyers indicated by the Supreme Federal Court and named by the President of Brazil . Its jurisdiction involves the registry of Brazilian Policital Parties ,
4368-541: The municipal level and employees of nationalized companies, such as Petrobras and the Correios . The first instance is composed of the Labor Judges, organized in specific Labor Courts ( Varas do Trabalho , present in most major cities, with jurisdiction to receive most complaints from individual workers, often without the need of a lawyer, and also judge administrative matters concerning labor law. Exceptionally, when there
4446-824: The nation's budget. Title 7 rules the economic activities in the country, the agricultural and urban policies, as well the state monopolies. Title 8 is about the social order. It establishes the Social Security system, the Public Health system, the Public Pension system, among regulations concerning education, culture, science and technology, and sports policies. Title 9 encompasses general constitutional dispositions. Among those, there are sparse regulations, as well as transitional dispositions. States of Brazil The federative units of Brazil ( Portuguese : unidades federativas do Brasil ) are subnational entities with
4524-426: The officers rank and post, as the Auxiliary Forces do not have Generals, and the second instance being either a State-level Court of Military Justice or a specific board within the State's ordinary Court of Justice. Each state territory is divided into judicial districts ( comarca ), which are composed of one or more municipalities . Each judicial district has at least one trial court ( Vara ) that functions as
4602-463: The organization of Electoral Zones, the maintenance of its authority and its appellate jurisdiction over decisions of the Regional Courts. The National Labor Council ( Conselho Nacional do Trabalho ), was created in 1923 as a subdivision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, as such, it was originally part of the executive branch rather than the judiciary. In 1946 it was reformed into
4680-522: The past been referred to as the country's fourth branch. In terms of jurisdiction, the main division is between common justice ( Portuguese : Justiça Comum ) and specialized justice ( Justiça Especializada ). Common justice, composed of federal and state justices (and the Federal District's own justice), handles most civil and criminal cases. Specialized justice, composed of electoral, military and labor justices, handles more specialized cases which also have their own specific procedures. Article 92 of
4758-537: The positions of Governor, Vice-Governor, and Federal and Local Congressmen, the Courts organize the local Electoral Juntas, designating their headquarters and jurisdiction, have the duty to maintain their authority with a provision to call upon federal assistance, and also serve as an appellate court to judgements made by Electoral Judges. The Electoral Judges are the State and Federal District first instance judges, their jurisdiction involves processing and judging common and electoral crimes, except those of jurisdiction of
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#17328582527274836-460: The possibility of creating others in the future. On 11 December 2011, a consultative referendum was held in the state of Pará about creating two new states from parts of it ( Tapajós and Carajás , with the rest of the state remaining as Pará). Both proposals were rejected by about 66% of statewide voters, but reflecting a strong geographic split with over 90% approval by voters in the proposed breakaway regions and over 90% disapproval by those in
4914-423: The promotion of public policies, in order to redistribute resources and reduce social inequalities." In order to finance the Welfare State, it was necessary to raise the tax burden, which went from 23.4% of GDP in 1988, to 33.6% of GDP in 2005, and to link budget revenues. Thus, the Union reached 93% of mandatory spending in 2017, decreasing the room for maneuver by the government and affecting investments. This option
4992-560: The public area." For jurist Modesto Carvalhosa , only a new "principiological" constitution would end the privileges of the 1988 Constitution. The Federal Constitution of 1988 is also criticized for having adopted one of the broadest Special Forums in the world, which jurists argue encourage corruption. A quarter of the actions with a Privileged Forum take more than ten years to be judged. The Supreme Federal Court takes 1,300 days to judge criminal actions by persons with privileged jurisdiction. Between 2001 and 2017, 200 actions involving
5070-400: The rights of polytheists such as some indigenous peoples or of atheists . The Supreme Federal Court has ruled that this commission of the protection of God was not unconstitutional since the preamble of the constitution is simply an indication of principles that serves as an introduction to the constitutional text and reflects the ideological conceptions of the legislator, falling within
5148-454: The role of the state in the citizens' lives, providing a vast system of human and individual rights protection, social welfare, and democratic tools. The 1988 Brazilian Constitution is the seventh enacted since the country's independence in 1822, and the sixth since the proclamation of the republic in 1889. It was promulgated on 5 October 1988, after a two-year process in which it was written from scratch. The current Constitution of Brazil
5226-406: The rules for amendments to the Constitution as well. Title 5 regulates the defense of the State and its democratic institutions. It rules the deployment of the armed forces , the national security baselines, and declaration of state of emergency . Title 6 comprises taxation and the nation's budget. It disposes on budget distribution among the Union's components and their competencies, and
5304-516: The scope of political ideology and not of the Law. The Federal Constitution of 1988 is criticized in the doctrine for being very extensive, long-winded, and analytical. This characteristic forced the Constitution to be amended several times, in politically costly processes, to adapt to changes in society Another criticism is that the 1988 Federal Constitution reproduces a model of state capitalism , expanding state monopolies and regulations, which allowed
5382-626: The second-instance State Courts, two chosen by the State Courts from the first-instance judges, one judge of the Regional Federal Court headquartered in the State's capital, or if there isn't, a Federal Judge, the last two are named from six lawyers of notable juridical knowledge indicated by the local State Court. These Courts have jurisdiction over the registry of the Municipal and State Directories of Brazilian Political Parties, candidates to
5460-465: The south bank of the São Francisco River from Pernambuco to Minas Gerais and later to Bahia , separating the capital city of Rio de Janeiro as a Neutral Municipality outside any province, splitting Amazonas from Pará , and splitting Paraná from São Paulo ), as well as international border adjustments resulting from diplomatic settlement of territorial disputes. The Cisplatine Province
5538-630: The state military justice. There are five Federal Regional Courts ( Tribunal Regional Federal - TRF), each covering several Brazilian states . They are established by articles 107 and 108 of the Constitution . Together with the Federal judges ( juízes federais ), the Federal Regional Courts make up the Federal Courts of Brazil . Each Federal Regional Court has at least seven judges of
5616-426: The states. Municipalities have a mayor, vice mayor and a chamber of aldermen, all elected by the citizens of the municipality, but do not have a separate judiciary. The Federal District has the same executive, legislative and judiciary organization as a state, but it cannot be divided into municipalities, which is why its territory is composed of several administrative regions . These regions are directly managed by
5694-417: The territory of Portuguese colonial domains in South America was more than doubled, with both states of Brazil and Maranhão greatly expanding westward. After the union ended, Portugal asserted its territorial claims, which Spain eventually accepted with the Treaty of Madrid in 1750. Several captaincies were created or merged during this period, in both the original and western domains, and some were returned to
5772-495: The title of Desembargador , recruited preferably from the local region, of whom a fifth must be lawyers with at least ten years of experience or members of the Labor Public Ministry , similarly to other Regional Courts, they are named by the President of Brazil with approval from the Brazilian Senate . The Regional Courts are distributed through the country's State capitals, each composed of seven judges, two chosen from
5850-487: Was annexed into Brazil in 1821, declared independence as Uruguay in 1825, and was recognized by the Treaty of Montevideo in 1828. When Brazil became a republic in 1889, all provinces became states, and the Neutral Municipality became the Federal District. In 1903, Brazil acquired the territory of Acre from Bolivia with the Treaty of Petrópolis . In 1942–1943, with the entrance of Brazil into World War II ,
5928-412: Was divided into captaincies in 1534, generally following lines of latitude, although some followed meridians or diagonal lines. Each of the holders of these captaincies was referred to as a captain donatary ( capitão donatário ). The captaincies were to be inherited by the holders' descendants, but the Crown retained the power to reacquire them. In 1549, the Portuguese Crown appointed Tomé de Sousa as
6006-435: Was drafted as a reaction to the period of military dictatorship , and sought to guarantee individual rights and restrict the state's ability to limit freedom, to punish offences and to regulate individual life. Among the new constitutional guarantees are the errand of injunction and the habeas data . It also anticipated the existence of a Consumers' Defence Code (enacted in 1990), of a Children's and Youth Code (1990) and of
6084-461: Was renamed Rondônia in 1956, and Rio Branco was renamed Roraima in 1962, while remaining territories along with Amapá and Fernando de Noronha. Acre became a state in 1962. In 1960, the rectangular-shaped Distrito Federal was carved out of Goiás to contain the new capital, Brasília . The previous federal district became the state of Guanabara , but in 1975 it was reincorporated into its original state of Rio de Janeiro , becoming its capital as
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