The difficulties and losses arising from the privileged forum for anti-corruption investigations

Abstract

This work deals with the difficulties and losses resulting from the privileged forum in police investigations to combat corruption. The privileged forum is the provision in Brasil’s Federal Constitution that, in the case of crimes whose perpetrators (or possible perpetrators) are certain public authorities, the investigation and prosecution will be assigned to a specific court and not to first level judges, as is the case with the all other investigated and accused perpetrators. Initially, it is shown that the privileged forum violates the constitutional principle of equality, as it is an elitist legal institute that seeks to unduly protect people in high positions, and that investigations and criminal actions originally attributed to courts are usually inefficient, leading to impunity. The methodology used is based on the study of brazilian legislation, jurisprudence, doctrine and on the author's professional experience as a Federal Police officer, active in the fight against corruption. In the chapters dedicated to the results, the difficulties and losses arising from the privileged forum are pointed out in investigations to battle corruption, which are related to 1) The distance between the crime scene and the seat of the competent court; 2) The reduced number of judges and court ministers; 3) Difficulties related to the beginning of investigations; 4) Investigations of members of the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's Office as a prerogative of the members´institution; 5) The way of choosing judges and court ministers, linking them to the President of the Republic; 6) Declines in jurisdiction during the course of investigations and prosecutions. The conclusion is that it is necessary to revoke the privileged forum by means of a constitutional amendment, so that all people are judged in the same way in our country, and that impunity, including that of corruption-related crimes, is reduced.