Law,+Government+and+Politics


 * Quick Facts**


 * Government**


 * Country name:**
 * Conventional long form:** Federative Republic of Brazil
 * Conventional short form**: Brazil
 * Local long form:** Republica Federativa do Brasil
 * Local short form:** Brasil
 * Capital:**
 * Name:** Brasilia

26 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Acre, Alagoas, Amapa, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara, Distrito Federal*, Espirito Santo, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondonia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins
 * Administrative divisions:**

7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
 * Independence:**

Independence Day, 7 September (1822)
 * National holiday:**

5 October 1988
 * Constitution:**

Based on Roman and Portuguese codes
 * Legal system:**

voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70; compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age; note - military conscripts do not vote
 * Suffrage:**


 * Chief of state**: President Luiz Inacio LULA DA SILVA (since 1 January 2003); Vice President Jose ALENCAR (since 1 January 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


 * Head of government:** President Luiz Inacio LULA DA SILVA (since 1 January 2003); Vice President Jose ALENCAR (since 1 January 2003)


 * Cabinet:** Cabinet appointed by the president


 * Elections:** president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single four-year term

bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional consists of the Federal Senate or Senado Federal (81 seats; 3 members from each state and federal district elected according to the principle of majority to serve eight-year terms; one-third elected after a four-year period, two-thirds elected after the next four-year period) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara dos Deputados (513 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
 * Legislative branch:**


 * Elections:** Federal Senate - last held 1 October 2006 for one-third of the Senate (next to be held in October 2010 for two-thirds of the Senate);

Supreme Federal Tribunal (11 ministers are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate); Higher Tribunal of Justice; Regional Federal Tribunals (judges are appointed for life); note - though appointed "for life," judges, like all federal employees, have a mandatory retirement age of 70
 * Judicial branch:**

green with a large yellow diamond in the centre bearing a blue celestial globe with 27 white five-pointed stars (one for each state and the Federal District) arranged in the same pattern as the night sky over Brazil; the globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress)
 * Flag description:**

=**Government and politics**=

According to the Constitution passed in 1988, Brazil is a federal presidential representative democratic republic, where the President is both head of state and head of government. Currently the President of Brazil is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula). He was re-elected on October 29, 2006, extending his position as President of Brazil until January 1, 2011.
 * Politics of Brazil**

The administrative structure of the State is a federation; however, Brazil has included the municipalities as autonomous political entities encompassing the Union, the States, and the municipalities. The legal system is based on Roman law. The Union's executive power is exercised by the government, headed by the president, who is elected for a four-year term, and is allowed to be re-elected for one other term. Legislative power is vested in the National Congress, which is bicameral. The deputies of the Chamber of Deputies are elected every four years in a system of proportional representation by states. The members of the Federal Senate are elected for an eight-year term. The Ordinary Law making process requires the participation of the executive, which has a right to veto on new legislation, and has an exclusive prerogative of initiative of legislation on certain matters.

=**Brazilian law**=

Emperor Dom Pedro I, was the first person to introduced new Constitution to Brazil after assembling a house of representatives. The Brazil became independent in 1822 with new laws changing from Portuguese to country's own rules and regulations. Brazilian law derives from Portuguese civil law and is based on statutes According to the judiciary structure described in the Brazilian Constitution, judicial power is divided between the State judicial branch and the Federal judicial branch, each having a different jurisdiction. State-level courts make decisions on all criminal and civil cases, with regional federal courts acting as courts of appeal. A Supreme Court exists to make final, binding decisions in legal cases and on interpretations of the Constitution.


 * State-level judiciary**
 * Trial courts**
 * Each state territory is divided into judicial districts named comarcas, which are composed of one or more cities.
 * The 27 State Courts have their headquarters in the capital of each State and the Federal District have jurisdiction only over their State territories.
 * Each comarca has at least one trial court.
 * Each court of first instance has a law judge and a substitute judge.
 * In some districts there are specialized trial courts for family cases and bankruptcy. The judge decides alone in all civil cases and in most criminal cases.
 * Only intentional crimes against life are judged by jury.
 * The judges of the courts are nominated after a selection process.
 * Judgments from these district courts can be the subject of judicial review following appeals to the courts of second instance.


 * Justice tribunals**
 * The highest court of a state judicial system is its court of second instance, the Justice Tribunal. In each Brazilian state there is one Justice Tribunal (Tribunal de Justiça in Portuguese).
 * Justice Tribunals are courts of appeal, meaning they can review any decisions taken by the trial courts, and have the final word on decisions at state level - though their decisions may be overturned by the federal courts.
 * Second instance judgments are usually made by three judges, called desembargadores.
 * Judges of the Justice Tribunals are appointed by the state governor.
 * Justice Tribunals are divided into civil chambers, which judge civil cases, and criminal chambers.
 * Judges of the justice tribunal overview one another.

Federal Courts have jurisdiction over circuits of several states and tend to be headquartered in the largest city of their territory. The regional courts are: The Regional Federal Court of the 1st Region has jurisdiction over 14 States: the Federal District,
 * Federal-level judicial branch**
 * Minas Gerais,
 * Bahia,
 * Piauí,
 * Maranhão,
 * Goiás,
 * Mato Grosso,
 * Amapá,
 * Tocantins,
 * Pará,
 * Amazonas,
 * Roraima,
 * Rondônia
 * Acre, with headquarters in Brasília, Federal District.

The Regional Federal Court of the 2nd Region has jurisdiction over two States:
 * Rio de Janeiro
 * Espírito Santo, with headquarters in Rio de Janeiro.

The Regional Federal Court of the 3rd Region has jurisdiction over two States:
 * São Paulo
 * Mato Grosso do Sul, with headquarters in São Paulo.

The Regional Federal Court of the 4th Region has jurisdiction over three States:
 * Rio Grande do Sul,
 * Santa Catarina
 * Paraná, with headquarters in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul.

The Regional Federal Court of the 5th Region has jurisdiction over six States:
 * Sergipe,
 * Alagoas,
 * Pernambuco,
 * Paraíba,
 * Ceará
 * Rio Grande do Norte, with headquarters in Recife, Pernambuco.


 * Superior courts**

There are two national superior courts making up the Supreme Court, which grant writs in civil and criminal cases: the Superior Court of Justice ("Superior Tribunal de Justiça" in Portuguese, shorthand STJ) and the Supreme Federal Court ("Supremo Tribunal Federal" in Portuguese, shorthand STF), the highest Brazilian court (decides issues concerning offences to the Brazilian Constitution). The "Superior Tribunal de Justiça – STJ" is the Brazilian highest court in non-constitutional issues and grants a Special Appeal when a judgement of a court of second instance offends a federal statute disposition or when two or more second instance courts make different rulings on the same federal statute. There are parallel courts for labour law, electoral law and military law. The STF grants Extraordinary Appeals when judgments of second instance courts violate the constitution. The STF is the last instance for the writ of habeas corpus and for reviews of judgments from the STJ. The superior courts do not analyse any factual questions in their judgments, but only the application of the law and the constitution. Facts and evidences are judged by the courts of second instance, except in specific cases such as writs of habeas corpus.

= = = = = = =Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination=

There are serious issues in regard to abuses of human rights in Brazil. Brazil had a remarkably poor record during the dictatorship of the 1960s however over the past few years Brazilian government has been cooperating with International Agencies for Human Rights to achieve the world standards of basic human rights. The government has introduced new laws to supplement and comply with these standards.

The issues addressed in the new laws are:

Prisoner violence Summary executions and police violence Torture Agrarian violence and oppression Slave labour and exploitation Domestic violence Indigenous violence Impunity

Brazilians are now pushing for a profound, ethical reform of their country's system. Many changes have been carried out in all sectors: government, employment, education, tourism etc.

Treaties & National Legislation
Where it has been adopted, legislation commonly contains:
 * //security rights// that prohibit crimes such as murder/"enforced" involuntary suicide, massacre, torture and rape
 * //liberty rights// that protect freedoms in areas such as belief and religion, association, assembling and movement
 * //political rights// that protect the liberty to participate in politics by expressing themselves, protesting, participating in a republic
 * //due process rights// that protect against abuses of the legal system such as imprisonment without trial, secret trials and excessive punishments
 * //equality rights// that guarantee equal citizenship, equality before the law and nondiscrimination
 * //welfare rights// (also known as economic rights) that require the provision of, e.g., education, paid holidays, and protections against severe poverty and starvation
 * //group rights// that provide protection for groups against ethnic genocide and for the ownership by countries of their national territories and resources

Anyone visiting Brazil should be aware of their legislation however the laws that are the most important to consider are:

Criminal Law Human Rights Public/civil Law Labor Law Environmental Law

Tips for visitors: References:
 * Never bring up politics in a conversation
 * Do not get involved in any protests or political conventions
 * Do not question Brazilians on their political preferences
 * Do not carry any signs or badges in regards to a political party

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Brazil [|www.brasil.gov.br] http://www.washlaw.edu/forint/america/brazil.html [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights]