Reduction of the age of criminal responsibility to 16 years may be voted in December

The proposal to reduce the penal age from 18 to 16 years may advance in the Chamber of Deputies in 2026. The rapporteur of the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) 32/2015, federal deputy Mendonça Filho (PL-PE), stated on Wednesday (11) that the text could be voted by the special committee in early December.

The statement was made after another audiência pública conducted by the commission responsible for analyzing the change in the Constituição Federal. According to the MP, Brazilian society demonstrates an increasingly consolidated understanding of the need to revise the minimum age for criminal accountability.

The rapporteur points to popular support for the reduction of the penal age

During the hearing, Mendonça Filho stated that opinion polls indicate an expressive support of the Brazilian population for the reduction of the penal age.

“Every opinion poll clearly indicates a very strong adherence, of more than 80% on average, to the reduction of the penal age,” said the deputy.

In the rapporteur's assessment, the positioning of the population would not only be the result of emotional reactions to crime, but also of a process of maturation of public debate.

The parliamentarian stressed that the violence recorded in different regions of the country contributes to increase the pressure for changes in the legislation.

“Real life speaks very loudly, and people in the various cities of Brazil cry out for change,” he said.

The percentage mentioned by the deputy was presented as an argument during the discussion, without detailing, in the information disclosed, the surveys used.

Proposal foresees separation of teenagers from adult prisoners

In addition to reducing the penal age, Mendonça Filho advocated the adoption of specific measures to ensure that criminally responsible adolescents are not referred to the same prisons used by adults.

According to the rapporteur, the change must consider three fundamental aspects: the separation of young people into appropriate units, the protection of victims and the application of stricter punishments for crimes considered serious.

The intention, according to the parliamentary, is to establish a model of accountability that considers the gravity of the crimes and preserves specific conditions for the fulfillment of the sentences by adolescents.

What changes with the reduction of the penal age?

Currently, the Constituição Federal establishes that minors under 18 years of age are criminally unimputable, being subject to the norms of the special legislation, especially the Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA).

This means that adolescents involved in criminal acts can receive socio-educational measures, including hospitalization, according to the severity of the conduct and the rules provided for by law.

The proposal under discussion intends to modify this constitutional limit, allowing criminal liability from the age of 16, in the terms defined by the approved text.

When can the proposal be voted on?

The expectation presented by the rapporteur is that PEC 32/2015 will be analyzed by the special commission in early December.

However, the vote in the committee does not represent the definitive approval of the change. Because it is a proposal to amend the Constitution, the text will still need to go through the necessary legislative steps, including voting in two rounds in the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate, with the support of three-fifths of the parliamentarians of each House.

Until all these steps are completed, the penal age in Brazil remains fixed at 18 years.

Debate also divides experts

During the hearings, experts presented different positions on the proposal. Representatives opposed to the reduction argued that the Brazilian prison system faces overcrowding and structural problems and advocated the strengthening of socio-educational measures and policies to prevent violence.

On the other hand, advocates of change argued that adolescents from 16 years have the ability to understand the gravity of their acts and must respond criminally for certain conducts.

The rapporteur informed that he intends to present his report to the House leadership on 1 December, before the vote in the special committee. (The information is from the House News Agency)

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