Governor of Rio Grande do Sul v. National Congress

Direct Action of Unconstitutionality no. 815 (1996)

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Governor of Rio Grande do Sul v. National Congress

Brazil Supreme Federal Court
Direct Action of Unconstitutionality no. 815 (1996)

Facts

Under Article 45 of the Brazilian Constitution, the deputies elected to the chamber of deputies are elected through a proportional system in state, territory, and federal district elections. Paragraph 1 of Article 45 provides that each state and federal district must receive at least eight deputies and at most 70 deputies and that the proportion of deputies is determined by elections. The Governor of Rio Grande do Sul (plaintiff) filed a challenge to the constitutionality of Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 45. The Governor of Rio Grande do Sul argued that South and Southeast regions were underrepresented in the proposed distribution of representatives, as the states had 57.7 percent of the population but only had 45 percent of the seats in Congress. The Governor of Rio Grande do Sul argued the statutes conflicted with the unwritten constitutional norms of equality, voter equality, citizenship, democracy, and federalism.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Alves, J.)

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