Title IX - general Constitutional provisions

 

Article 233. (Revoked)

Article 233 revoked by CA 28, May 25th 2000.
Original text of this article:
"For the purposes of article 7, XXIX, rural employers shall, every five years, present evidence before the Labour Courts that they have fulfilled their labour obligations toward rural employees in the presence of the latter and of their union representative.
Paragraph 1 - Upon evidence that the obligations mentioned in this article have been fulfilled, the employer shall be exempt from any charges deriving from those obligations in the respective period. In case the employee and his representative do not agree with the evidence presented by the employer, it shall be incumbent upon the Labour Courts to resolve the dispute.
Paragraph 2 - The employee shall, in any case, have the right to claim in court the credits to which he believes he is entitled referring to the last five years.
Paragraph 3 - The evidence mentioned in this article may be produced at intervals of less than five years, at the discretion of the employer."

Article 234. It is forbidden for the Union to assume, directly or indirectly, as a result of the creation of a state, burdens related to expenses with inactive personnel and with charges and repayments of internal or foreign debt of the public administration, including those of the indirect administration.

Article 235. During the first ten years after the creation of a state the following basic rules shall be observed:
I - the Legislative Assembly shall be composed of seventeen Deputies if the population of the state is less than six hundred thousand inhabitants, and of twenty-four Deputies if it is equal to or greater than this number, up to one million and five hundred thousand inhabitants;
II - the Government shall have at most ten Secretariats;
III - the Court of Accounts shall have three members, appointed by the elected Governor, among Brazilians of proven good repute and notable knowledge;
IV - the Court of Justice shall have seven Judges;
V - the first Judges shall be appointed by the elected Governor, chosen in the following manner:
a) five of them from among judges with more than thirty-five years of age, in exercise within the area of the new state or of the original one:
b) two of them from among public prosecutors, under the same conditions, and from among attorneys of proven good repute and legal knowledge, with at least ten years of professional practice. complying with the procedures set forth in this Constitution;
VI - in the case of a state which originated from a federal territory, the first five Judges may be chosen from among judges from any part of the country;
VII - in each judicial district the first Judge, the first Public Prosecutor and the first Public Defender shall be appointed by the elected Governor after a public entrance examination of tests and presentation of academic and professional credentials;
VIII - until the promulgation of the state Constitution, the offices of Attorney-General, Advocate-General and Defender-General shall be held by lawyers of notable knowledge, with at least thirty-five years of age, appointed by the elected Governor and removable ad nutum;
IX - if the new state results from the transformation of a federal territory the transfer of financial burden from the Union for payment of opting civii servants who belonged to the Federal Administration, shall take place as follows:
a) in the sixth year after its creation, the state shall assume twenty percent of the financial burden for the payment of the civil servants, the remainder continuing as a responsibility of the Union;
b) in the seventh year, thirty percent shall be added to the burden of the state and, in the eighth year, the remaining fifty percent;
X - the appointments subsequent to the first ones, for the offices mentioned in this article, shall be regulated by the state Constitution;
XI - the budgetary personnel expenses shall not exceed fifty percent of the revenues of the state.

Article 236. Notary and registration services shall be exercised by private entities by Government delegation.
Paragraph 1 - The law shall regulate the activities, discipline the civil and criminal liability of notaries, registrars and their officials and define the supervision of their acts by the Judicial Power.
Paragraph 2 - Federal law shall set forth general rules for the establishment of the fees for the acts performed by notary and registration services.
Paragraph 3 - The entrance in notary and registration activities shall depend on a public entrance examination of tests and presentation of academic and professional credentials, and an office shall not be permitted to remain vacant for more than six months, without the opening of a public examination to fill it, either by appointment or transference.

Article 237. The supervision and control of foreign trade, which are essential to the defense of national financial interests, shall be exercised by the Ministry of Finance.

Article 238. The law shall organize the sale and resale of petroleum-derived fuels, fuel alcohol and other fuels derived from renewable raw-materials. respecting the principles of this Constitution.

Article 239. The revenues from contributions to the Social Integration Program, created by the Supplementary Law number 7 of September 7, 1970, and to the Civil Servants Asset Development Programme, created by the Supplementary Law number 8, of December 3, 1970, shall, from the date of the promulgation of this Constitution, fund the unemployment insurance programme and the bonus referred to in paragraph 3 of this article, in the manner prescribed by law.
Paragraph 1 - At least forty percent of the funds mentioned in the caption of this article shall be allocated to finance economic development programmes, through the National Economic and Social Development Bank, with remuneration criteria which preserve their value.
Paragraph 2 - The accrued assets of the Social Integration Programme and of the Civil Servants Asset Development Programme shall be preserved, maintaining the criteria for withdrawal in the situations provided for in specific laws, with the exception of withdrawal by reason of marriage, it being forbidden the distribution of the revenues referred to in the caption of this article, for deposit in the personal accounts of the participants.
Paragraph 3 - Employees who receive monthly remuneration of up to two minimum wages from employers who contribute to the Social Integration Programme and to the Civil Servants Asset Development Programme shall be ensured the annual payment of one minimum wage, in which value the income of the individual accounts shall be computed, in the case of those who already participated in such programmes before the date of the promulgation of this Constitution.
Paragraph 4 - Funding of the unemployment insurance programme shall receive an additional contribution from companies in which employee turnover exceeds the average turnover rate of the sector, in the manner established by law.

Article 240. The present compulsory contributions calculated on the payroll, made by employers, intended for private social service and professional training entities linked to the labour union system, are excluded from the provisions of article 195.

Article 241. The Union, the States, the Federal District and the municipalities shall regulate by means of law the public consortia and the cooperation convenes among the federated entities, authorizing the associated management of public services, as well as the total or partial transference of charges, services, personnel and assets essential to the continuity of the transferred services.

Article 241 added by CA 19, June 4th 1998. Original text:
"The principle of article 39, paragraph 1, corresponding to the careers regulated in article 13 5 of this Constitution, shall apply to career police officers."

Article 242. The principle of article 206, IV, shall not apply to the official educational institutions created by state or municipal law and in existence on the date of the promulgation of this Constitution, which are not totally or predominantly maintained with Public funds.
Paragraph 1 - The teaching of Brazilian History shall take into account the contribution of the different cultures and ethnic groups to the formation of the Brazilian people.
Paragraph 2 - The Pedro II School, located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, shall be maintained in the federal sphere.

Article 243. Tracts of land in any region of the country where illegal plantations of psychotropic plants are found shall be expropriated immediately and specifically assigned to the settlement of tenant farmers, to the culture of foodstuff. s and medicinal products, with no indemnity to the owner and without prejudice to other sanctions set forth by law.
Sole paragraph - Any and all good of economic value seized as a result of illegal traffic or narcotics and similar drugs shall be confiscated and reverted to the benefit of institutions and personnel specialized in the treatment and cure of drug-addicts and in the equipping and funding of supervision, control, prevention and repression of drug traffic crime.

Article 244. The law shall provide for the adaptation of presently existing sites and buildings of public use and of the public transportation vehicles in order to guarantee adequate access to the handicapped, as set forth in article 227, paragraph 2.

Article 245. The law shall provide for the cases and conditions in which the Government shall give assistance to the needy heirs and dependants of victims of willful crimes, without prejudice to the civil responsibility of the perpetrator of the offense.

Article 246. The adoption of any provisional measure for the regulation of any article of the Constitution whose wording had been altered by means of amendment enacted between January 1st of 1995 and the promulgation of this amendment is forbidden.

This article was included by CA 6, August 15th 1995, and altered by CA 7, same date. Then, it was amended again by CA 32, December 11th 2001. All these CAs attempted to impose limits to the overuse of provisional measures; CA 32 amended the articles which regulate provisional measures (see article 62).

Article 247. The laws mentioned by clause II of paragraph 1 of article 41 and by paragraph 7 of article 169 shall establish criteria and special guarantees for the loss of office by the tenured civil servants who, by force of the assignments of their effective offices, carry out activities exclusive of the State.
Sole paragraph. In cases of insufficient performance, the loss of office shall only take place by means of an administrative proceeding in which the servants are ensured of contraditory and ample defense.

Article 247 added by CA 19, June 4th 1998. Examples of servants who work on activies exclusive of the State: federal police, tax auditors, public account auditors, etc. Notice that judges and prosecutors have their own guarantees, granted by their own specific estatutes.

Article 248. The benefits paid, on any account, by the entity in charge of the general regime of social security, even if funded by the National Treasure, and those not subject to the maximum limit established for the benefits granted under this regime shall observe the limits established by the article 37, XI.

Article 248 added by CA 20, December 15th 1998.

Article 249. With the aim of secure funds for payment of retirement compensations and pensions granted to the respective servants and their dependants, in addition to the resources of the respective Treasures, the Union, States, Federal District and municipalities shall be allowed to constitute funds composed by resources derived of contributions and by goods, rights and assets of any nature, by means of a law which shall provide for the nature and administration of such funds.

Article 249 added by CA 20, December 15th 1998.

Article 250. With the aim of secure funds for the payment of benefits granted by the general regime of social security, in addition to the resources of its revenues collection, the Union shall be allowed to constitute fund composed by goods, rights and assets of any nature, by means of a law which shall provide for the nature and administration of such fund.

Article 250 added by CA 20, December 15th 1998.