Brazil

Brazil

Right	Section	Contents
Freedom of Association	History	According to Thiago Luís Santos Sombra the right to freedom of association in Brazil dates to 1891: "The freedom of association is, thus, an extension of private autonomy and, although it was only included in the Brazilian legal order as a constitutional guarantee in the 1891 Constitution (art. 72), it represents a social phenomenon that precedes the Declarations of Rights and the Constitutions of the 19th Century." Brazil’s current constitution ( 1988) has exceptionally detailed freedom of association provisions. Title II-I-5 states that: - there is total freedom of association for lawful purposes, but any paramilitary association is prohibited; - creation of associations and, as set forth in law, of cooperatives, requires no authorization, prohibiting state interference in their operations; - associations may be compulsorily dissolved or their activities suspended only by a judicial decision, which in the former case must be a final and unappealable decision; - no one can be compelled to join an association or to remain in one; - when expressly authorized, associations have standing to represent their members judicially and extrajudicially References: Sombra, Thiago Luís Santos, "Representation and Deliberation: Does Every Vote Have The Same Influence In The Voting Process Of Associations?" Thurgood Marshall Law Review n. 41, issue 2, December 2015 “Federal Supreme Court Constitution - Stf.jus.br.” Accessed September 14, 2022. https://www.stf.jus.br/arquivo/cms/legislacaoConstituicao/anexo/brazil_federal_constitution.pdf.
Freedom of Expression	History	Article 179 of the 1824 Political Constitution of the Empire of Brazil stated: "All are permitted to communicate their thoughts by words, writings and by publications in print without dependence upon censorship, the while they must respond for the abuses they may commit in the exercise of this right, in the cases and manner to be determined by law." Freedom of expression can also be found in Article 5 of the 1988 Brazil Constitution. References: 1824 Political Constitution of the Empire of Brazil : English original text of the Constitution of 1824 250 (2010) Title VIII: General Provisions and Guarantees of the Civil and Political Rights of Brazilian Citizens https://heinonline-org.proxygw.wrlc.org/HOL/Page?collection=cow&handle=hein.cow/zzbr0040&id=14&men_tab=srchresults “Federal Supreme Court Constitution - Stf.jus.br.” Accessed September 14, 2022. https://www.stf.jus.br/arquivo/cms/legislacaoConstituicao/anexo/brazil_federal_constitution.pdf.
Freedom of Religion	History	According to Article 179.5 of the 1824 Political Constitution of the Empire of Brazil, "No one may be persecuted by reason of religion, so long as he respects that of the state and does not offend public morals." The 1890 Constitution guaranteed free exercise: "All individuals and religious denominations may publicly and freely exercise their worship, associating themselves for this purpose, and acquiring property within the limits prescribed by the law of mortmain." In a number of ways the 1890 Constitution asserted separation of church and state, including emphasis on the secular character of public instruction and cemeteries, the civil character of marriage recognized by the state, and a ban on official subsidies or other relationships between religious groups and federal or state governments. The 22 June 1890 Constitution also barred Jesuits from Brazil, though as Thomas Skidmore describes this ban was lifted before the Constitution came into effect: "The initial draft of the Constitution of 1891, for example, contained a clause which would have again banned the order from Brazil. The provision was removed by the Constituent Assembly, which nonetheless endorsed a proposed prohibition of any new convents or monastic orders." The final version of the 1891 Constitution offered a briefer description of freedom of religion in Article 179, Section V: "No one can be persecuted on account of his religion so long as he respects that of the state and does not offend public morals." Even so, the 1891 Constitution established an official religion in Article 5: "The Apostolic Roman Catholic religion shall continue to be the religion of the Empire. All other religions shall be permitted with their domestic or private worship in buildings destined therefor, but without any exterior form of a temple." References: "Title VIII: General Provisions and Guarantees of the Civil and Political Rights of Brazilian Citizens," Constitution of the Empire of Brazil, 1824 : 250: https://heinonline-org.proxygw.wrlc.org/HOL/Page?collection=cow&handle=hein.cow/zzbr0040&id=14&men_tab=srchresults English translation of the Portuguese original text of the Constitution of 22 June 1890 23 (2013) Section II: Declaration of Rights : https://heinonline-org.proxygw.wrlc.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.cow/zzbr0396&id=23&collection=cow&index= English translation of the original Constitution of 1891. [8] (2013) Title II: Of Brazilian Citizens; Title VIII: Of the General Dispositions and Guarantees of the Civil and Political Rights of Brazilian Citizens, Constitution of the Empire of Brazil (1891): [8]; [29]: https://heinonline-org.proxygw.wrlc.org/HOL/Page?collection=cow&handle=hein.cow/zzbr0153&id=30&men_tab=srchresults# Skidmore, Thomas E. “Eduardo Prado: A Conservative Nationalist Critic of the Early Brazilian Republic, 1889-1901.” Luso-Brazilian Review 12, no. 2 (1975): 154. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3512939.
Freedom of the Press	History	Article 179 of the 1824 Political Constitution of the Empire of Brazil stated: "All are permitted to communicate their thoughts by words, writings and by publications in print without dependence upon censorship, the while they must respond for the abuses they may commit in the exercise of this right, in the cases and manner to be determined by law." Today, press freedom is protected under Chapter I, Article 5 of the 1988 Constitution: “expression of intellectual, artistic, scientific, and communication activity is free, independent of any censorship or license” (Constitute Project, “Brazil's Constitution of 1988 with Amendments through 2017” ). References: 1824 Political Constitution of the Empire of Brazil : English original text of the Constitution of 1824 250 (2010) Title VIII: General Provisions and Guarantees of the Civil and Political Rights of Brazilian Citizens https://heinonline-org.proxygw.wrlc.org/HOL/Page?collection=cow&handle=hein.cow/zzbr0040&id=14&men_tab=srchresults 1988 Brazil Constitution: https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Brazil_ 2017? lang=en
Privacy Rights	History	In its first constitution, Brazil guaranteed the inviolability of the home in Article 179.7 and of correspondence in Article 179.27. Today personal privacy, the home, and correspondence are protected in Article 5(X-XII) (Constitute Project, “Brazil 1988 rev. 2017” ). References: 1824 Political Constitution of the Empire of Brazil: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Empire_of_Brazil 1988 Brazil Constitution: https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Brazil_ 2017? lang=en
Voting Rights and Suffrage	History	Women received the right to vote in Brazil in 1932. According to Brazil's Superior Electoral Court, "With the enactment of Decree No. 21,076 (first electoral code in Brazil), the Electoral Court and its structure was created, with a Superior Court and Regional Courts in each state. Among the code's important innovations, women’s right to vote and to be elected stands out – expressed in a legal provision for the first time. In addition, the decree instituted the 5th model of electoral title, secret ballot, and proportional representation." References: Superior Electoral Court, "History of the Electoral Justice System": https://international.tse.jus.br/en/superior-electoral-court/history-of-the-electoral-jujstice-system