Valor Econômico - Special Section - Fighting Corruption - 17/08/2012

This year's elections will be the first to be held under the Clean Record Law, which prohibits people convicted by collegiate bodies from running for elected office. “The great importance of Complementary Law 135/2010 is to convey the message that candidates for public office must obey certain ethical standards”, comments the president of the Ethos Institute, Jorge Abrahão. "It demonstrates the existence of a new culture in Brazilian society, important for the strengthening of democracy", he says.

In the opinion of Pedro Abramovay, professor at the Faculty of Law of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation of Rio de Janeiro (FGV-Rio), “the Clean Record is fundamental in the fight against corruption. By demanding morality from postulants to public office, the law protects society and raises the level of the campaign ”.

The law, originated from a popular initiative saber project with around 1,3 million signatures, makes the candidate convicted in court in collegiate decisions (courts with more than one judge) ineligible for eight years, even when the possibility still exists appeal. Also those who had their mandate revoked by the Electoral Court or who resigned to avoid being revoked are also ineligible for the same period.

After many comings and goings, the PL was approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in May 2010, and was sanctioned by then President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in June of the same year, on the eve of the elections to choose the new President of the Republic , state governors, senators, federal and state deputies.

It was a stir. Until then, anyone who had not been definitively convicted was considered innocent - that is, when there was no longer any possibility of appeal. The constitutionality of the law was also contested for reaching facts that occurred before its effectiveness. The final word was given in February of this year by the Federal Supreme Court (STF), the highest level of Brazilian justice. By seven votes to four, the STF plenary declared the Clean Record Law constitutional and determined its validity from the October elections, which will appoint the new mayors and councilors in all municipalities in the country.

The requirements of the Clean Record Law are beginning to spread to other sectors of society, a proposal defended by Abrahão, from the Ethos Institute. Earlier this month, the National Council of Justice (CNJ) unanimously passed a resolution requiring a clean sheet when hiring commissioned employees for occupants of trust and outsourced positions in the country's courts. The only exception is the STF, which does not submit to CNJ decisions. The board members granted a period of 90 days to identify employees with a dirty record and 180 days to dismiss them. The requirement does not apply to public servants, who have their own legal regime.

In June, the Senate Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) had already approved a proposal to amend the Constitution (PEC) requiring a clean sheet for all commissioned servants of the Executive, Judiciary and Legislative branches of the Union, States, Federal District and municipalities . The proposal still needs to be approved in two rounds by the Senate plenary, then going to the Chamber. The PEC in progress even prohibits the appointment of people deemed ineligible by the Electoral Justice to the positions of minister and executive secretary. (JS)