THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR'S INVESTIGATIVE POWER

Abstract

The present paper deals with the legitimacy of the Prosecutor's Office to conduct criminal investigations directly due to the provision of art. 129 of the Federal Constitution, which enlists the constitutional functions of the institution, which raises doubts to the doctrine and jurisprudence as to the constitutionality of any investigation into criminal offenses perpetrated by the Parquet. The opposing doctrine is based on the absence of a constitutional stipulation for ministerial investigation, which makes any infra-constitutional provision in this regard unconstitutional, as well as the usurpation of the Prosecutor's Office's attributions in relation to the judicial police. In contrast, the favorable doctrine defends the implicit constitutional provision arising from the systematic interpretation of the constitutional text, which allows the regulation of the Parquet's investigative power by infra-constitutional legislation, as well as pointing out the non-invasion of police attributions. With the end of the discussion about the Direct Unconstitutionality Actions 2.943, 3.309 and 3.318, the Brazilian Supreme Court settled on the understanding that the Prosecutor's Office has the legitimacy to carry out criminal investigations, observing the same deadlines and guidelines established for the judicial police, with the aim of respecting the guarantees of those being investigated.