{"id":94652,"date":"2025-06-23T11:39:33","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T14:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/?p=94652"},"modified":"2025-06-23T11:39:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T14:39:33","slug":"interest-groups-want-to-slice-up-reform-of-civil-code","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/interest-groups-want-to-slice-up-reform-of-civil-code\/","title":{"rendered":"Interest groups want to slice up reform of civil code"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bill 4\/2025 aims to revise over 1,200 provisions on family, inheritance, damages and contracts<\/em><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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06\/23\/2025<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Filed early this year in Brazil\u2019s National Congress, the proposal to overhaul the Civil Code hasn\u2019t even begun its formal review yet and is already provoking backlash. Dozens of organizations, spanning legal associations to industrial groups, are contesting the rapid \u201curgent\u201d approval of Bill\u202f4\/2025, which seeks to modernize the code. Its proponents say there\u2019s ample opportunity for debate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Many groups prefer delaying the proposal so each theme\u2014family law, inheritance, damages, contracts\u2014can be addressed separately, effectively \u201cslicing\u201d the reform.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Drafted by a panel of 38 jurists convened in August\u202f2023 at the request of former Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco, the commission proposes changes to more than 1,200 of the Code\u2019s 2,046 articles, last overhauled in 2002. The draft also introduces a new chapter on digital assets, covering cryptocurrencies and image collections on social media.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Several proposed family law updates will affect inheritance divisions. The definition of marriage would shift from \u201cbetween a man and a woman\u201d to \u201cbetween two people,\u201d to explicitly recognize same-sex unions. Corporate liability changes\u2014like the introduction of \u201cpedagogical damages\u201d\u2014could significantly impact business finances.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Under Article\u202f944-A, paragraph\u202f3, judges could impose fines alongside moral damages in cases of serious wrongdoing or repeated misconduct, \u201cin order to prevent recurrence,\u201d effectively turning compensation into a punitive deterrent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Industrial Federation of Minas Gerais (FIEMG), along with other civil society organizations, is spearheading a national effort to involve the productive sector in discussions around the bill. Paulo Ribeiro, FIEMG\u2019s integrity and governance advisor, warns that the proposed changes could push companies into unforeseen indemnity obligations, since liability would hinge simply on whether damage occurred\u2014not on fault. \u201cAny lawsuit could put a small enterprise under,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr. Ribeiro also criticizes the expanded role of the judiciary under proposals tying contracts to social function, arguing courts could reinterpret virtually any agreement, and the judiciary could become overburdened.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In response, FIEMG plans to launch an Observatory of the Reform by month\u2019s end\u2014cross\u2011sector thematic groups to monitor the bill\u2019s progress and propose alternatives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Twenty legal organizations signed a letter urging the bill to pass through all congressional committees with amendment hearings, per Senate rules. They argue the bill implicitly demanded approval before year\u2011end when filed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Diogo Leonardo Machado de Melo, a law professor and president of the S\u00e3o Paulo Lawyers Institute (IASP), part of the movement pushing for the reform, notes the bill includes structural changes never before debated\u2014like extrajudicial DNA-based paternity recognition. \u201cThat needs judicial oversight, because being added as a parent affects insurance, school registration, and more,\u201d he says. Mr. Melo also criticized the proposal to allow judges to impose pedagogical damages. \u201cGranting magistrates the authority to set punitive damages deviates entirely from the current objective standard established in Article\u202f402 [losses and damages],\u201d the professor said. Regarding the chapter on digital assets, Mr. Melo raised concerns about possible legal overlap. \u201cWon\u2019t the ongoing discussions at the Federal Supreme Court over the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet affect this?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He further noted that the French Civil Code, known as the Napoleonic Code, was enacted in 1804 and underwent a reform in 2015 that modified fewer than 300 provisions\u2014primarily focused on the law of obligations and contractual practices.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rodrigo da Cunha Pereira, president of the Brazilian Institute of Family Law (IBDFAM), which supports the proposal and took part in drafting the text, recalled that the current Civil Code spent 20 years in Congress before being enacted, and by then, was already outdated. \u201cOf course, that doesn\u2019t mean approval should happen overnight. Debate will certainly take years as the bill progresses through the many committees every PL must go through,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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According to Mr. Pereira, an IBDFAM committee will monitor the bill\u2019s progress and submit proposals to improve the draft. \u201cIn a democratic society, this is standard: a committee of legal experts makes a proposal knowing it will be modified,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr. Pereira noted that many of IBDFAM\u2019s proposals were considered too bold and didn\u2019t make it into the preliminary draft. \u201cIn the section on marriage, for example, we had suggested the phrase \u2018union between people\u2019 instead of \u2018between two people\u2019 to include polyamorous relationships,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Flavio\u202fTartuce, the bill\u2019s rapporteur, emphasizes there is no urgency in its advancement. \u201cIt must pass through thematic committees and will take at least two years. There\u2019s no rush,\u201d he says. He adds that all entities had been notified to participate in earlier public hearings but didn\u2019t contribute.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr. Tartuce also rejects claims that the social\u2011function clause would harm commerce, noting the current Code already includes this in Article\u202f2035\u2019s sole paragraph. He argues new indemnity rules are grounded in Superior Court of Justice precedent (REsp\u202f1.152.541), and argues that \u201ctoday in Brazil, it\u2019s cheaper to breach a contract because moral\u2011damages are low.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019d welcome anyone proposing to shelve or sabotage the bill to join the debate and refine it,\u201d says Mr. Tartuce. \u201cThat\u2019s what a democratic society expects.\u201d<\/p>\n

*By Laura Ignacio\u00a0\u2014 S\u00e3o Paulo<\/p>\n

Source: Valor International<\/p>\n

https:\/\/valorinternational.globo.com\/<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bill 4\/2025 aims to revise over 1,200 provisions on family, inheritance, damages and contracts 06\/23\/2025 Filed early this year in Brazil\u2019s National Congress, the proposal to overhaul the Civil Code hasn\u2019t even begun its formal review yet and is already provoking backlash. Dozens of organizations, spanning legal associations to industrial groups, are contesting the rapid […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8106],"tags":[26198],"class_list":["post-94652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-murray-news","tag-reform-of-civil-code"],"yoast_head":"\nInterest groups want to slice up reform of civil code - Murray Advogados<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/interest-groups-want-to-slice-up-reform-of-civil-code\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Interest groups want to slice up reform of civil code - Murray Advogados\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bill 4\/2025 aims to revise over 1,200 provisions on family, inheritance, damages and contracts 06\/23\/2025 Filed early this year in Brazil\u2019s National Congress, the proposal to overhaul the Civil Code hasn\u2019t even begun its formal review yet and is already provoking backlash. 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