Nowadays, in most countries where representative democracy and the presidential system are in force, there is the possibility of President of the Republic be removed from power in cases of crimes against the public good, provided for in its Constitutional Letters, by means of a process of impeachment. This type of process goes back to the English political tradition and also to the most ancient civilizations. A classic case is the ostracism, that took place within the Athenian civilization, in Ancient Greece.
Impeachment in History
The term impeachment it means “impediment” and first appeared in the second half of the 14th century, at the end of the Middle Ages. In 1376, the Lord Latimer was the subject of a case by the House of Commons (English Parliament), which was the first case of impeachment of the world. In this process, the first procedures that would be perfected over the centuries were defined.
The English model was soon incorporated by most of the nations where representative democracy came into force. The United States was among the first to include the notion of
impeachment in its legal system. The use of this prerogative was put into effect in the 1970s, when the then president Richard Nixon was removed from office due to the scandal ofwatergate.Among us Brazilians, the only presidents to suffer impeachment, until then, were Fernando Collor of Melo, in 1992, and Dilma Rousseff, in 2016. The prevision of impediment from office to presidents of the Republic was included in Brazilian legislation since the first republican constitution, granted in 1891. With the process of redemocratization of Brazil, started in 1985, after the Military Governments, a new Constitution was drafted and approved in 1988. This Constitution (in force until today), in addition to ensuring individual freedoms and direct elections, also preserved in its structure the possibility of impeachment for the President of the Republic. Any actions taken by the President that violate the items listed below may trigger an impeachment process.
1) the existence of the Union; 2) the free exercise of the Legislative Power, the Judiciary Power, the Public Ministry and the Constitutional Powers of the units of the Federation; 3) the exercise of political, individual and social rights; 4) the country's internal security; 5) probity in administration; 6) the budget law; 7) compliance with laws and court decisions.
How does an impeachment happen?
If there were allegations against the President of the Republic, the impeachment process will take place in six phases: 1) Request, 2) Reception, 3) First vote (in the Chamber), 4) Submission to the Senate, 5) Second vote (in the Senate) and 6) Penalty. Understand better how these phases occur:
The request for impeachment can be presented to the Chamber of Deputies (one of the houses of the Brazilian Parliament) by any citizen who fully enjoys their political rights. In the request, there must be a proper characterization of the crime committed by the president. Thereafter, the president of the Chamber has the power to decide whether the request is valid and whether it will be filed or forwarded to parliamentarians. If the acceptance is favorable to the progress of the request, the president of the Chamber will forward it to the federal deputies.
The deputies receive the request and form a commission to consider it in ten sessions. During this time, the President of the Republic has the opportunity to present his defense. There is a first vote in the Chamber. If 2/3 of the deputies choose to continue the process, it will go to the Federal Senate, where another commission will be set up for consideration. In this phase, the President of the Republic is obliged to step aside from his position for a period of 180 days, until the vote in the Senate takes place. The session with the senators is chaired by the president of the Superior Federal Court. It is also necessary that 2/3 of the senators vote in favor for the impeachment to be carried out. If the vote is favourable, the President of the Republic is condemned, removed from office and ineligible for eight years. His post is summarily occupied by his deputy.
By Me. Cláudio Fernandes