Case Name: ADI 7775 (Law against the Soy Moratorium in Rondônia)

Summary

This is a Direct Action of Unconstitutionality (ADI) with a request for a precautionary measure filed by the Communist Party of Brazil, Rede Sustentabilidade, the Green Party, and the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), aiming to declare unconstitutional articles 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of Law 5.837/2024 of the State of Rondônia. The Law came into effect on July 26, 2024, and aims to prevent, within the state of Rondônia, the application of the sectoral agreement known as the "Soy Moratorium," an important example of reconciling the interests of large-scale agricultural development with environmental and climate sustainability. To that end, the aforementioned state law, "in a true fiscal punishment," prohibits the granting of tax incentives, as well as the granting of public lands, to agribusiness companies that have internal purchasing policies that seek to avoid acquiring agricultural goods (soybeans, corn, cattle, etc.) produced in recently deforested areas. The petitioners allege, regarding the material unconstitutionality of the norm, a violation of the principles of free enterprise, free competition, and equality, given that the law distorts the very logic of the market by punishing legal entities that adopt sustainable purchasing policies and do not promote the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest—a measure originating from the sectoral agreement that has proven to promote, not limit, soybean production in the country. It was also highlighted that this law violates acquired rights, legally perfected acts, the defense of the environment as a fundamental principle of the national tax system, the right to an ecologically balanced environment, the duty to protect the environment, and the principle of non-regression in environmental protection. It is noteworthy that the law represents a setback in the fight against climate change, linking the regression in the fight against deforestation to immediate and direct consequences in the fight against climate change, also considering the commitments made in the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement. As a preliminary measure, the granting of the requested precautionary measure is requested in order to suspend the effects of the aforementioned articles of Law 5.837/2024 of the State of Rondônia. Ultimately, a judgment in favor of the ADI (Direct Action of Unconstitutionality) is requested, declaring State Law 5.837/2024 unconstitutional.

 

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Main norms mobilized

• Article 170 of the Federal Constitution (CRFB/88)
• Article 225 of the Federal Constitution (CRFB/88)
• Article 5th of the Federal Constitution (CRFB/88)
• Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment
• Federal Constitution (CRFB/88)
• Forest Code (Federal Law 12.651/2012)
• Kyoto Protocol (Federal Decree 5.445/2005)
• Paris Agreement (Federal Decree 9.073/2017)
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - UNFCC (Federal Decree 2.652/1998)

Case timeline

Case documents