The National Security Law was a Brazilian law that sought to guarantee the

national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...

of the State against the subversion of

law and order In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...

. It was revoked in 2021 by Law No. 14,197, though its provisions pertaining national security and the defense of the democratic rule of law, including crimes against national sovereignty: attacks on the nation's sovereignty, national integrity and espionage, became part of the

Brazilian Penal Code The current Penal Code of Brazil ( pt, Código Penal brasileiro) was promulgated in 1940, during the Estado Novo regime in the Vargas Era, and is in effect since January 1, 1942. It is the third codification of criminal law in the country's hist ...

History

Since the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom Pe ...

there has been legislation on national security. They have been updated over time and the National Security Law (LSN) or Law No. 7,170 of 14 December 1983, defined crimes against national security, political and social order, also establishing its trial procedure and judgment. The law became more frequently used in 2020.

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Augusto Aras Antônio Augusto Brandão de Aras (born 4 December 1958) is a Brazilian attorney, former sub-Prosecutor-General of Brazil, professor in the Law School of University of Brasília (UnB) and current Prosecutor General of Brazil. He is Bachelor of La ...

stated in April 2021 that he would not investigate

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer who has been the 38th president of Brazil since 1 January 2019. He was elected in 2018 as a member of the Social Liberal Party, which he turn ...

for the use of the National Security Law against critics and opponents, understanding that he would not be responsible for the actions of junior officials. The

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

approved a bill repealing the law in May 2021, also including new "crimes against democracy", such as a coup d'état and interruption of elections, in the Penal Code. In July, the project was approved by the Federal Senate, and was sanctioned in September 2021, with vetoes, by the President of the Republic.

Crimes against national security

The law provided, in the Brazilian legal system, for crimes that harm national security or expose it to danger of injury: Meirelles, H. Lopes (1972). Poder de polícia e segurança nacional. Conferência proferida na Escola Superior de Guerra, em 24 de Maio de 1972 *Against

territorial integrity Territorial integrity is the principle under international law that gives the right to sovereign states to defend their borders and all territory in them of another state. It is enshrined in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and has been recognized ...

and

national sovereignty Westphalian sovereignty, or state sovereignty, is a principle in international law that each state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory. The principle underlies the modern international system of sovereign states and is enshrined in the Un ...

, acts of trying to dismember part of the national territory to constitute an independent country incur a crime with a penalty of imprisonment from 4 to 12 years; *Enticing individuals from another country to invade national territory, whose penalty is imprisonment for 3 to 10 years and if the invasion occurs, the penalty is increased up to double; *the person of the heads of the Powers of the Union, legislative, executive and judiciary.

References

{{portal bar, Brazil, Politics 1983 establishments in Brazil Law of Brazil

History

Crimes against national security

See also

References