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 history, succeeding those of 1830 and 1890. One notable feature of the document is the inclusion of
libel as a crime.
History
Previous penal codes
The first penal law in independent Brazil was the
imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texas
...
Criminal Code of 1830, issued on December 16, 1830 and approved by Emperor
Pedro I. The General Assembly of the Empire determined that any offense or voluntary omission to the Code was to be considered a crime. The Criminal Code of 1830 was in force during the Empire.
After the
Proclamation of the Republic in 1889, a new penal code was created on October 11, 1890, followed by a new constitution in 1891. This penal code was in effect during the
First Republic and most of the Vargas Era.
Current penal code
In 1934, a new constitution was enacted under President
Getúlio Vargas. This was followed by the creation of a new penal code, the one currently in use, on December 7, 1940.
After the end of the Vargas Era in 1945–46, a new constitution was created, but the Penal Code of 1940 was not abolished. There was an unsuccessful attempt to replace it with a new one in 1969, during the
military government. A large reformation of the Code was proposed in 1973 and successively postponed until it was revoked in 1978. Another commission for a large reform of the Code was formed in 1980. The reform finally took place in 1984, one year before the end of the military government.
Recent modifications include a redefinition of "sexual crimes" in 2009, and the inclusion of
feminicide
Femicide or feminicide is a hate crime which is broadly defined as "the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female," but definitions of it vary depending on cultural context. In 1976, the feminist author Diana E. H. Russel ...
in 2015.
External links
Penal Code of 1940
Penal Code of 1890
See also
*
Brazilian Anti-Corruption Act
The Brazilian Anti-Corruption Act ( pt-BR, Lei anticorrupção) officially "Law No. 12,846" and commonly known as the Clean Company Act ( pt, Lei da Empresa Limpa, label=none) is a Brazilian law enacted in 2014 targeting
corrupt practices ...
*
Law of Brazil
The law of Brazil is based on statutes and, partly and more recently, a mechanism called ''súmulas vinculantes''. It derives mainly from the civil law systems of European countries, particularly Portugal, the Napoleonic Code and the Germanic la ...
*
Crime in Brazil
*
Constitution of Brazil
The Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil) is the supreme law of Brazil. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of Brazil and the feder ...
{{South America in topic, Law of
Brazil
Brazilian criminal law