Senator Rogério Carvalho, the rapporteur for Brazil’s proposed Security constitutional amendment, presented his report to the Senate plenary on Tuesday without proposals to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 18 to 16. He also rejected the other amendments submitted on the floor.
Carvalho said the age-limit debate should take place separately from the main amendment. He turned the proposals into requests to be considered as autonomous bills and referred to the Senate’s Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ). If the request is approved, the proposals will proceed to the committee. If it is rejected, senators will vote on whether to include the issue in the main text of the PEC.
The proposals came from Senator Rogério Marinho of the opposition and PT leader Camilo Santana. Marinho’s amendment would lower the age to 16 as a general rule and to 14 for heinous crimes, torture, drug trafficking and terrorism. Santana’s proposal would set the age at 16 only for heinous crimes.
Carvalho said a special committee in the Chamber of Deputies is already discussing the issue and is expected to vote on its report in November. The government supports debating a change but argues it should be handled through a separate PEC. According to the report, changes to the substance of the current proposal would require it to return to the Chamber, delaying plans to create a Ministry of Public Security.
The Senate president, Davi Alcolumbre, removed the PEC from the agenda on October 15 amid disagreement over the proposed age reduction. The main text requires at least 49 votes in each of two rounds in the Senate. If approved without changes, it will go to promulgation and will not require presidential approval.
Sources: CNN Brasil.