THE LAW OF ADMINISTRATIVE MISCONDUCT BETWEEN SYMBOLISM AND EFFECTIVENESS: GENESIS, TRANSFORMATIONS AND INSTITUTIONAL REACTIONS

Abstract

This article analyzes the Administrative Misconduct Law (LIA) (Law No. 8,429/1992) as a product of the interaction between normative evolution, political dynamics, and institutional transformations in Brazil. In this sense, the LIA is approached as an expression of moments of crisis, tensions between legislative symbolism and normative effectiveness, and disputes over the role of the State in combating corruption. The study starts by identifying the symbolic use of legislation in contexts of political instability, based on the theory of Marcelo Neves, a theme explored in the first part of the work. The second part analyzes the legislative countermovement post-Lava Jato, culminating in the 2021 reform (Law No. 14,230/2021), and its impacts on the performance of the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Judiciary, especially with regard to the weakening of the so-called “administrative law of fear”. The third part is devoted to the empirical investigation of the practical effects of the reform, using official data from the National Council of Justice (CNJ) and the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) to demonstrate the significant drop in the filing of administrative misconduct lawsuits. It is concluded that the trajectory of the LIA reveals the permanent tension between accountability and guarantees, activism and containment, reflecting the historical and political cycles that shape the Brazilian legal system.