It's correct to affirm that the District Attorney Department did not appear all of a sudden, in just one place, produced by some legislative act. The District Attorney Department was actually developed slowly and progressively, as a response to historical demands.
During the Colonial-Brazil and a long time after the Brazilian Independence, the development of the District Attorney Department was inseparably linked to the old Portuguese right, based on the Afonsinas Ordinations (1447), Manuelinas Ordinations (1514) and Filipinas Ordinations (1603).
Nowadays, the Brazilian District Attorney Department is defined by the Republican Constitution of 1988 as "a national and permanent institution, encharged to defend the juridical order, the democratic regime and the social and individual undisposable interests" (vide article 127). It can act, with functional independence, in a large Criminal, Civil and Social judicial processes.
Comparatively, a Lawyer defends private interests, while a District Attorney defends the interests of the society, but both are independant institutions and can act in judicial and extrajudicial affairs, accordingly to their respective legal limits.
In the Criminal field the District Attorney Department acts directly investigating the Penal infractions, as well as take charge to promote in trial the apuration of crimes and the responsabilization of their authors, watching out for the society's general interests. The accusatory role of the District Attorney is already, itself, the first factor of protection to the individual freedom, because it assures the contradictory in the accusation and enables the presence of an impartial Judge, for this latter is detached from the onus to accuse. The Republican Constitution of 1988 imputes to the District Attorney Department the exclusiveness to promote the Public Penal pursuit, as well as to requisite police inquiry and investigative diligences. It depends of the District Attorney the external control of the police activity, according to the local District Attorneys' complementary law, without prejudice of the general rules that are fixed in national law. Contrary to what several laymen think, in the criminal field the District Attorney isn't obliged to accuse: he has absolute freedom of conviction and actuation. The District Attorney not only can but he must claim the absolution of the accused or to appeal on his behalf, when he is convinced about his innocence.Equally, the District Attorney can solicit habeas corpus on behalf of the accused, if he understands he is suffering an illegal constraint.
In the Civil field, the role of the District Attorney is as relevant as in the Criminal one, and lately the attributions have grown significantly. The District Attorney Department can be an active organ, when it takes the initiative to provoke the Judiciary Power in several prosecutions; v.g.: interdiction of mental disabled people, annulment of marriage, annulment of fraudulent juridical act, destitution of paternal power, rescissory actions, public actions in defense of diffuse and collective interests (v.g., defending the environment, the consumers, the cultural patrimony or in the civil actions ex delicto, and several others). The District Attorney Department can also actuate in an infinity of effects with the quality of an intervenient organ. This aspect emerges due to the quality of one of the litigants, when it's necessary to care for their undisposable interests or to supply some sort of inferiority (v.g.: the presence of a minor, an Indian, a foundation, a victim of a labour accident, a jacent inheritance or a bankrupt dough). The District Attorney's Department also comes along as an intervinient organ when the nature of the toil has a public interest to care about, v.g.: environmental causes, family causes, civil status causes, testament causes, security writ or popular action). Still in the Civil sphere of action, the 1988 Republican Constitution amplified the active and interventive legitimacy in order to interfere in the defense of social and individual undisposable interests, as well as diffuse and collective interests (vide article 127 and 129, III). The District Attorney Department can also exercise what is called the public administration of private interests, v.g.: following wedding habitations, fiscalizing foundations, approving extrajudicial agreements or terms of adjustment of behaviour.
In the Social field, the District Attorney Department has also the relevant task to attend the needy public. This consists in one of the most suitable fields to watch over the effective respect of the public powers and the relevant public services toward the rights assured in the Republican Constitution (vide article 129, II). Some examples of the District Attorney actions in this field are, can be quoted like: counseling indigents, obtaining agreements, making conciliations, homologating extrajudicial transactions, and several others. In this level, the District Attorney Department has also the relevant function of attending familial causes, labour accident causes, as well as causes involving minors, disabled and elder people or needy people in general.
The Republican Constitution also foresees the intervention of organs of the District Attorney Department to work together with the Tribunal of Accounts and the Councils of Accounts (vide article 130). This latter disposition is the source of several juridical discussions, though, and they are going to be subject of analysis, opportunely.
During the Colonial-Brazil and a long time after the Brazilian Independence, the development of the District Attorney Department was inseparably linked to the old Portuguese right, based on the Afonsinas Ordinations (1447), Manuelinas Ordinations (1514) and Filipinas Ordinations (1603).
Nowadays, the Brazilian District Attorney Department is defined by the Republican Constitution of 1988 as "a national and permanent institution, encharged to defend the juridical order, the democratic regime and the social and individual undisposable interests" (vide article 127). It can act, with functional independence, in a large Criminal, Civil and Social judicial processes.
Comparatively, a Lawyer defends private interests, while a District Attorney defends the interests of the society, but both are independant institutions and can act in judicial and extrajudicial affairs, accordingly to their respective legal limits.
In the Criminal field the District Attorney Department acts directly investigating the Penal infractions, as well as take charge to promote in trial the apuration of crimes and the responsabilization of their authors, watching out for the society's general interests. The accusatory role of the District Attorney is already, itself, the first factor of protection to the individual freedom, because it assures the contradictory in the accusation and enables the presence of an impartial Judge, for this latter is detached from the onus to accuse. The Republican Constitution of 1988 imputes to the District Attorney Department the exclusiveness to promote the Public Penal pursuit, as well as to requisite police inquiry and investigative diligences. It depends of the District Attorney the external control of the police activity, according to the local District Attorneys' complementary law, without prejudice of the general rules that are fixed in national law. Contrary to what several laymen think, in the criminal field the District Attorney isn't obliged to accuse: he has absolute freedom of conviction and actuation. The District Attorney not only can but he must claim the absolution of the accused or to appeal on his behalf, when he is convinced about his innocence.Equally, the District Attorney can solicit habeas corpus on behalf of the accused, if he understands he is suffering an illegal constraint.
In the Civil field, the role of the District Attorney is as relevant as in the Criminal one, and lately the attributions have grown significantly. The District Attorney Department can be an active organ, when it takes the initiative to provoke the Judiciary Power in several prosecutions; v.g.: interdiction of mental disabled people, annulment of marriage, annulment of fraudulent juridical act, destitution of paternal power, rescissory actions, public actions in defense of diffuse and collective interests (v.g., defending the environment, the consumers, the cultural patrimony or in the civil actions ex delicto, and several others). The District Attorney Department can also actuate in an infinity of effects with the quality of an intervenient organ. This aspect emerges due to the quality of one of the litigants, when it's necessary to care for their undisposable interests or to supply some sort of inferiority (v.g.: the presence of a minor, an Indian, a foundation, a victim of a labour accident, a jacent inheritance or a bankrupt dough). The District Attorney's Department also comes along as an intervinient organ when the nature of the toil has a public interest to care about, v.g.: environmental causes, family causes, civil status causes, testament causes, security writ or popular action). Still in the Civil sphere of action, the 1988 Republican Constitution amplified the active and interventive legitimacy in order to interfere in the defense of social and individual undisposable interests, as well as diffuse and collective interests (vide article 127 and 129, III). The District Attorney Department can also exercise what is called the public administration of private interests, v.g.: following wedding habitations, fiscalizing foundations, approving extrajudicial agreements or terms of adjustment of behaviour.
In the Social field, the District Attorney Department has also the relevant task to attend the needy public. This consists in one of the most suitable fields to watch over the effective respect of the public powers and the relevant public services toward the rights assured in the Republican Constitution (vide article 129, II). Some examples of the District Attorney actions in this field are, can be quoted like: counseling indigents, obtaining agreements, making conciliations, homologating extrajudicial transactions, and several others. In this level, the District Attorney Department has also the relevant function of attending familial causes, labour accident causes, as well as causes involving minors, disabled and elder people or needy people in general.
The Republican Constitution also foresees the intervention of organs of the District Attorney Department to work together with the Tribunal of Accounts and the Councils of Accounts (vide article 130). This latter disposition is the source of several juridical discussions, though, and they are going to be subject of analysis, opportunely.
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