Upholding the Claims of Non-Compliance with a Fundamental Precept (ADPF) 514 and 516 at its session on Thursday (11th), the Full Court of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) declared unconstitutional a rule of the Municipality of Santos (SP) that prohibited the transportation of live cargo in the municipality’s urban and urban expansion areas.
The actions, brought by the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA) and the Brazilian Federation of Purebred Animal Breeders’ Associations (Febrac), respectively, challenged articles 1 and 3 of Supplementary Law 996/2018 of Santos (SP), which amended the Municipal Code of Conduct (Law 3,531/1968) to prohibit the transportation of live cargo in cages or vehicles in the municipality’s urban and urban expansion areas. The entities argued that the ban would make it impossible for Brazilian rural producers to export livestock through the Port of Santos, in addition to violating the constitutional principles of free competition and free enterprise.
In April of this year, Justice Edson Fachin (reporting justice) granted preliminary injunctions in both actions, subject to ratification by the Full Court, suspending the effect of the provisions. He found that the requirements for granting an injunction had been met: the legal plausibility of the claim, since the challenged rule encroached on the Federal Government’s power to regulate the matter, and the danger of delay, given the arrival at the time of seven ships carrying live cargo in Brazilian territory. “Delay in granting relief will cause serious harm, both from an economic standpoint and from the standpoint of the protection and welfare of the animals involved in the commercial activity,” Justice Fachin said at the time.
In reviewing the ratification of the injunctions at today’s session, the reporting justice maintained the grounds of his individual decision. According to Fachin, the municipality could not have legislated on a matter within the Federal Government’s competence. All the justices present ratified the injunctions and then agreed to convert the ratifications into a judgment on the merits, definitively upholding the ADPFs.
Source: https://aplicacao.aasp.org.br/aasp/imprensa/clipping/cli_noticia.asp?idnot=27783