5. Participatory Safeguards in Transnational Criminal Justice Under Brazilian Law

Like Italy, Brazil also does not have comprehensive rules on transnational criminal justice. Although the drafters of the 1941 code enacted a few rules on international cooperation with foreign authorities, these rules only concerned two legal assistance instruments, that is, letters rogatory and the homologation of foreign judgments. By contrast, no provision governed extradition, even though it is certainly the oldest form of judicial assistance in Brazil. Significantly, the Constitution in force at the time of the code’s enactment—namely, the 1934 Constitution—had already conferred to the Federal Supreme Tribunal jurisdiction in extradition procedures. This situation has remained largely unchanged since then and there are still no codified rules on extradition. The enactment in 1980 of a comprehensive Law on the legal status of aliens (Estatuto do Estrangeiro) certainly contributed to this result, introducing specific provisions on extradition procedures.