The word nepotism designates the criminal practice of favoring relatives and close people for the occupation of public administration positions. Nepotism, when confirmed, can cause damage to the public good, as usually the appointment of relatives occurs not by the competence of the favored person, but by the simple relationship friendship.
Also know: Difference between ethics and morals
What is nepotism?
the term nepotism derives from latin, more specifically the words nepos (nephew) or nepotis (grandchild). In the first centuries of the Christian era, the relatives of popes were endowed with advantages in the public administration of the Roman Empire or with positions linked to the clergy. Hence, the term nepotism came to be used to designate the favoring relatives in public administration.
The practice of favoring the family is common in private sphere, since the essence of private property is the maintenance of its ownership for the owner and his family. However, this does not apply to public administration, as it deals with public property, that is, it belongs to every citizen. Nepotism in public administration is therefore
A way of corruption.Read too: How are “oranges” used in corruption?
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Is nepotism a crime?
O chapter VIIgives Federal Constitution of 1988 it deals specifically with the disposition and organization of the Brazilian public administration. The first section of this chapter, which deals with the general provisions of the administration of public goods in all spheres of power, it affirms that this organization must be guided by the principles of legality, impersonality, morality, publicity and efficiency.
When the Constitution speaks of impersonality, she refers to the impartial character that one must have when administering the State, not taking actions that benefit one person or another, but what is best for the people. nominate one's own family to hold a public administrative position, even if someone qualified to hold such a position, configures personal favor.
If the person is not qualified for the position or if there are others more qualified, there is the transgression of the efficiency principle, because the work done by the favored person will not be the best that could be done. As nepotism is a criminal practice conducted in bad faith by those who practice it, the principles of legality and morality are also violated.
In addition to the Federal Constitution, other documents prohibit the practice of nepotism within the scope of the civil service, such as the Statute of Federal Servants, established by Law n. 8112, of 1990. Item VIII of article 117 of these bylaws establishes that under their immediate leadership, in the position or function of trust, spouse, partner or relative up to the second degree is prohibited within the scope of public service federal.
O decree number 7,203, issued on June 4, 2010 by the then president Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, also establishes a text similar to that of article 117 of the Statute of Servants of the Union and extends nomination ban to third-degree relatives. These documents deal with the federal public service performed by public agencies, autarchies (state-owned public companies with administration company) and joint ventures (when a company is owned, at the same time, by the State and by individuals or private companies associates).
In 2008, two years before the issuance of decree n. 7,203, the practice of nepotism remained commonplace within the civil service, which led the Federal Supreme Court to issue Binding Precedent nº 13, of 2008.
summary of nepotism
In 2008, the STF lowered the summary |1| binding number 13 to deal with nepotism, which, despite prohibitions, had been practiced with deviant cases and exceptional, because they are of different degrees of kinship or because they were committed in states and municipalities that did not have specific legislation for that.
The scoresheet 13 expanded the degree of kinship to third degree in a straight line (father, mother, grandfather, grandmother and grandchildren, great-grandfather, great-grandmother and great-grandchildren) and established the collateral line (brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, nephews and nieces) and the line of kinship by affinity (relatives of the spouse in three degrees, stepfather, stepmother, stepchildren, etc.).
- cross nepotism
To circumvent the law, many public officials practice so-called crossed nepotism, that is, the appointment of a friend's relative to some public office, while this friend also names a relative of whom he first named (exchange of favors), establishing a cross-web of relationships more difficult to be discovery.
See too: Moral values and their importance to society
What doesn't constitute nepotism?
Decree n. 7,203, of 2010, establishes some exception situations in which there is no configuration of nepotism in public administration. Exceptions are:
- Effective federal employees (who entered public office through a competitive examination or employees who entered the public service before 1988 and were hired with the promulgation of the Federal Constitution of 1988) active or retired, provided that the compatibility of education and qualification is observed, to occupy a position commissioned in the federal scope.
- Appointment of a person to occupy a public office with a higher hierarchical level than his own.
- Contracts made before the establishment of a family bond.
- From a person already linked to the same body before the establishment of the family bond, provided that for a position with the same hierarchical level or inferior to what was previously occupied (that is, if the person works in an agency and becomes his boss's brother-in-law or father-in-law, he of course, he could change his activity within the body, but this promotion must be compatible with the hierarchy of his position occupied previously).
An exception that appears in some points of the decree, but does not appear in article 4, which deals with exceptions, is hiring through public competition or selection process. In these cases, the suitability of the process ensures the right of selected candidates to take office on merit.
another exception to nepotism, which began to appear since the decisions of the STF in 2008, is the appointment of relatives to occupy strictly political positions. Political positions are not public administration positions, but positions that deal directly with the political daily life of members of the Executive Branch, such as secretariats and advisors. In these cases, as discussed, only the suitability and qualification for the position of the person appointed to occupy it, as the STF decided that the appointment to this type of position does not configure crime.
consequences of nepotism
For the public good, nepotism brings severeconsequences. This corrupt practice can occur with the purpose of facilitating corruption schemes and payment of bribes, exchange of favors and embezzlement within the public administration.
When the case occurs only to favor family members, nepotism can lead to incompetenceadministrative of the person who was hired without having adequate qualifications for the job and merit to remain in the role.
Grades
|1| A binding docket is the gathering of a set of decisions of a court that becomes valid to deal with lost cases with those who are disposed of on the docket. The summaries are edited when there is no specific law to deal with a certain deviant case (The Legislative branch has never dealt with on such a case or if there is a case of exceptional exception) or when the interpretation of magistrates (judges) on a given law diverges. So that there are no exceptions, exaggerations or injustices, the court downloads the summary as the correct interpretation to deal with the cases.
by Francisco Porfirio
Sociology Professor
