The aim is for the study to point out the differences in the way the issue is dealt with in the courts in different regions of Brazil
14.07.2017
The lawsuits filed in the Brazilian courts over the practices of subjecting people to conditions analogous to slavery or human trafficking will be identified and analyzed in a survey contracted by the National Council of Justice.
The research, which should be completed within nine months of being contracted, is one of six provided for in the Justice Research Series call for proposals, published on June 22, with the aim of selecting institutions interested in carrying out the studies.
Started in 2012, the project is coordinated by the CNJ's Judicial Research Department (DPJ) and selects public and private non-profit institutions to carry out research into policies and actions relating to the Judiciary.
In 2015, the CNJ established the National Forum of the Judiciary for Monitoring and Effectiveness of Demands Related to the Exploitation of Labor in Conditions Similar to Slavery and Trafficking in Persons, with the aim of coordinating actions to combat slave labor, involving judges and the Public Prosecutor's Office.
Profile of court cases
The research to be carried out will present an overview of slave labor and human trafficking in Brazil, not just providing the number of cases on the subject, but where they are being processed, their average duration, the profile of the parties involved and other questions that will help produce an in-depth diagnosis.
The proposal is that the study will be able to point out the differences in the treatment of the issue in the courts in different regions of Brazil, exploring possible causes for the discrepancies found. In addition, the study will cover the outcome or sentence given to cases on these issues.
As the Justice Research Series notice points out, it is possible that there is an underreporting of cases of slave labor and human trafficking that do not always reach the judiciary. According to data from the Ministry of Labor, the Public Ministry of Labor, the Federal Police and the Federal Highway Police, between 1995 and 2015, 1,890 operations against slave labor took place in Brazil. In these operations, 49,800 workers were freed and R$ 95 million paid out in denied rights. In addition, there are compensations for collective moral damages, according to Minister Lélio Bentes, a former advisor to the CNJ. One of them amounted to more than R$ 5 million, a sum that is invested in projects to improve living conditions in the places where the freed workers come from.
Contribution to solving the problem
The final stage of the research covers the identification and criticism of situations that hinder the correct and rapid investigation of cases of slave labor and human trafficking by the Judiciary.
The contracted institution must present a proposal for structuring actions for the continuing education of magistrates that will contribute to solving the problems diagnosed during the data collection stages.
Source:tribunahoje.com