The penal proof and the reform in the Penal Procedures Code (CPP)

Abstract

The modification in law is always claimed, due to the constant social changes by which the country goes through. In relation to the Penal Procedures Code, besides this natural demand, since it dates from 1941, the promulgation of the Federal Constitution of 1988 exposed a serious conflict between the two legal institutes, demanding profound changes to the Code, aiming at its adequacy to the new constitutional order. And, indeed, important modifications have been introduced to the procedural system, be it through the laws that modified the Code, such as the non recognition of the citation presumption, be it by means of supplementary laws, where the creation of the Special Criminal Courts stands out, among others. Afterwards, diverse other projects have been presented intending to perform punctual modifications in the Code, culminating with the presentation of diverse laws that modified its text. In this paper, the main changes concerning the penal proof verified between the years 2003 and 2009 will be pointed out and commented.