Medina Osorio Advogados > Rio de Janeiro, Brazil > Firm Profile
Medina Osorio Advogados Offices
R. da Assembléia, 10 – Sala 1617.
Centro, Rio de Janeiro – RJ, 20011-901
Brazil
Medina Osorio Advogados > The Legal 500 Rankings
Brazil > White-collar crime and investigations Tier 5
Lawyer Profiles
Interviews
Fábio Medina Osório, Partner
TheLegal500 interviewed attorney Fábio Medina Osório, partner of Medina Osório Advogados, former Federal Attorney General (2016) of Brazil, PhD in Administrative Law from the Complutense University of Madrid and former District Attorney in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. In this interview, Medina Osório analyzes the Brazilian landscape in light of the Brazilian Anticorruption Law (Law 12,846/2013), considering the requirements of effective compliance and the fragmentation of the supervisory bodies. Medina Osório advises: companies investing in Brazil must necessarily adapt to the requirements of the Brazilian Anticorruption Law. Fábio Medina Osório is considered one of the leading experts in anticorruption legislation in Brazil, having published the books "Teoria da Improbidade Administrativa" (Theory of Administrative Impropriety) and "Direito Administrativo Sancionador" (Sanctioning Administrative Law), both published by Revista dos Tribunais (Journal of the Courts). In this interview, we had the opportunity to gather some of his impressions about the Brazilian Anticorruption Law.Soon after the enactment of Law 12,846/2013, the so-called Anti-Corporate Corruption Law, you were interviewed by Veja magazine, in Brazil, to point out perspectives of this legislation in 2014. On that occasion, you warned about the risks of abuses and misuse of power by inspectors and about possible legal insecurity. What is your assessment on the evolution of the fight against corruption in Brazil?
Brazil has strong and solid institutions, and a stable democracy. The anticorruption law represents an advancement in the current regulatory system, which now requires vigilance from companies in the private environment. However, in reality, the multiplicity of supervisory bodies that manage this law generates legal uncertainty. Likewise, there are many open concepts in the law that provide a certain degree of discretionality to interpreters, which also produces uncertainties. Abuses and deviations have occurred in the managing of this law. Companies cannot be made unviable by the acts of their leaders. In Brazil, the fight against corruption has improved greatly in recent years, but it has also sacrificed countless businesses. This must be reviewed.
How important are administrative impropriety or corporate misconduct lawsuits against offending companies?
These cases provide the environment for leniency agreements. These agreements, however, should not serve to lead companies to bankruptcy. In the lawsuits, the institutions are obliged to point out certain losses signaled in expert opinions or reports. But the agreements do not have to follow these numbers. They have other purposes, among which are the preservation of jobs and the company´s social function, in addition to identifying the responsible individuals. The supervisory bodies should look at more realistic parameters in the agreements, using an economic reading and analysis of the Law.
Does a company, in order to operate in Brazil, need effective compliance?
The Corporate Anticorruption Law adopted the concept of effective compliance, which is actual compliance as opposed to illusory or theoretical compliance. Companies need certified compliance or a certification-searching compliance. They need an independent compliance officer, with a contract that guarantees his/her autonomy. The investment in the implementation of effective compliance brings legal security and quality. The business environment in Brazil is competitive and regulated. Having compliance is a market differential.
What are the risks for international investors who are ensnared by so-called “illusory or theoretical compliance”?
“Theoretical compliance” is forbidden in Brazil and can generate liabilities for companies and their managers. It is an alleged “compliance” that exists only on paper and not in the company´s organizational reality, serving as a front to cover up illicit acts. This kind of tool constitutes a violation of the anticorruption corporate law. It is a fraud and an attempt to frequently hinder investigations. There is a very high risk in hiring law firms or companies that implement compliance, since it is necessary to verify the expertise of the professionals involved in this line of work.
The culture of compliance is, in reality, a global culture that permeates international businesses. In this sense, Brazil is inserted in the international community and Brazilian legislation is aligned with the best international practices.
Interviews
Fábio Medina Osório, president of IIEDE
TheLegal500 brings an exclusive interview with Brazilian jurist Fábio Medina Osório, founder of the International Institute for State Law Studies (IIEDE), in which he presents IIEDE’s greatest achievements and discusses the Institute’s plans for the future. Check it out!
1) 2023 marked the 20th anniversary of the International Institute for State Law Studies (IIEDE). What is your perspective when looking back on the IIEDE’s history?
A: The Institute was born from a joint idea that Prof. Humberto Ávila and I had in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, in the early 2000s. Based on this idea, we brought together numerous professors and academics and Professor Eduardo García de Enterría from Spain, whose participation was decisive, so much so that a large part of the founding professors and lecturers came precisely from Spain and from the García de Enterría School of Lecturers. For the inauguration of the Institute, we conceived and held the seminar “The New State Law”, on which occasion Prof. García de Enterría was awarded an honorary doctorate, the first honorary doctorate he received in Brazil. That seminar was attended by nearly 600 people, including speakers such as Prof. Luis Roberto Barroso and Justice Gilmar Mendes, among other illustrious speakers. Since then, the Institute has held numerous successful national and international seminars. The Institute’s central feature is its dialog with civil society.
2) The Institute is dedicated to the study of State Law. What is the scope of this area of law?
A: The International Institute for State Law Studies encompasses a wide range of very different legal disciplines. Most of the Institute’s professors are constitutional, administrative and tax law experts. However, the State exercises its power through multiple legal disciplines. In this sense, the Institute is also open to the study of criminal law and other legal disciplines that have a bearing on matters related to state power. Capital market law, banking law, competition law and consumer law are all legal disciplines that have interfaces with administrative sanctions law. These matters, which relate to the State’s power to impose sanctions, have been the subject of studies and seminars within the Institute. The perspective of state law must be considered as comprehensively as possible.
3) What are IIEDE’s prospects for the next ten years?
A: We intend to expand our dialog with the private sector and universities, along the lines of the agreements we already have with institutions like the CVM (Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission). We also plan to create digital magazines to disseminate the intellectual work of IIEDE’s collaborators. Another project is to deepen the research groups in order to collaborate with civil society and institutions, including assisting with draft legislation. IIEDE must increasingly become a knowledge production powerhouse for the improvement of institutions.
Press Releases
Seminar New Paradigms of Compliance in Brazil.
4th June 2024 The International Institute of State Law Studies (IIEDE), a non-profit civil entity founded in 2003, currently chaired by jurist and professor Fábio Medina Osório, is organizing the Seminar on New Paradigms of Compliance in Brazil,New Paradigms of Compliance in Brazil: A Seminar Presented by IIEDE and BNDES
16th May 2024 Fabio Medina Osório, head of the Medina Osório Lawyers firm, and president of the International Institute for State Law Studies (IIEDE) in collaboration with the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), is pleased to host the "New Paradigms of Compliance in Brazil" seminar.Administrative Law: 2023’s Contemporary Administrative Sanctioning Law Seminar
22nd January 2024 We are excited to share with the Legal500 community the "Contemporary Administrative Sanctioning Law Seminar," orchestrated by our associate, Dr. Fábio Medina Osório,10 Years of Brazilian Anti-Corruption Law” Seminar Recording Now Available
15th January 2024 We are pleased to present the recording of the "Seminar Celebrating 10 Years of the Brazilian Anti-Corruption Law." Organized by Fabio Medina Osório, this significant event was held on December 4th, 2023, in Brasília.Fabio Medina Osório, Former Attorney General of Brazil, Hosts Seminar Celebrating 10 Years of the Brazilian Anti-Corruption Law. Date and Location: The seminar will take place in Brasília on December 4th.
4th December 2023 Fabio Medina Osório, Former Attorney General of Brazil, Hosts Seminar Celebrating 10 Years of the Brazilian Anti-Corruption Law. Date and Location: The seminar will take place in Brasília on December 4th.CONTEMPORARY ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTION LAW SEMINAR 2023
2nd June 2023 About this event: The Contemporary Administrative Sanction Law Seminar is supposed to be attended by practitioners, scholars, and students of administrative sanction law. The seminar is a collaborative workspace for all attorneys involved in and around the practice of administrative sanction law and capital markets regulation in Brazil. This event is our collective effort to educate, challenge, and inspire one another to improve our skills, broaden our perspective, and improve the field of contemporary administrative sanction law. Join us!CONTEMPORARY ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTION LAW SEMINAR
15th May 2023 August 17, 2023 About this event: The Contemporary Administrative Sanction Law Seminar is supposed to be attended by practitioners, scholars, and students of administrative sanction law. The seminar is a collaborative workspace for all attorneys involved in and around the practice of administrative sanction law and capital markets regulation in Brazil. This event is our collective effort to educate, challenge, and inspire one another to improve our skills, broaden our perspective, and improve the field of contemporary administrative sanction law. Join us! Event organizers: IIEDE – Internacional Institute of State Law Studies CVM – Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil Event coordinator: Professor Fábio Medina Osório, Former Chief Minister of the Attorney General’s Office of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Executive Chairman of IIEDE and President of Cedas for National OAB https://www.iiede.com.br/index.php/2023/05/09/eng-contemporary-administrative-sanction-law-seminar/For more information, contact: IIEDE – Internacional Institute of State Law Studies +55 (51) 3013-2658 iiede@iiede.org.br
Legal Developments
Brazil´s New Growth Acceleration Plan (PAC) and Opportunities in the Sanitation Sector.
26th March 2024 In 2024, the implementation of the New Growth Acceleration Plan (PAC) heralds significant expectations, aiming to channel a projected investment of R$ 1.7 trillion into infrastructure.Expanding Legitimacy in Civil Non-Prosecution Agreements in Brazil: A Legal Analysis
5th March 2024 Recent normative and jurisprudential evolution in Brazil has broadened the scope of active legitimacy for filing administrative improbity lawsuits and civil non-prosecution agreements.Optimizing Brazil’s Ports: The Path to Competitiveness.
23rd February 2024 Brazil's port sector has undergone significant transformations aimed at improving operational efficiency and capacity through major reforms in 1993 and 2015, focusing on integrating private initiatives in leased and private terminals.Medina Osório Advogados’ Approach to Brazilian Real Estate Law
9th January 2024 In the intricate realm of Brazilian real estate, legal practitioners face a convoluted array of statutory obligations and regulatory frameworks, necessitating astute management and stringent compliance measures.Debt-to-Equity Conversion in Brazil’s Judicial Recovery Proceedings: The Alternative Creditors’ Plan
27th November 2023 In the complex landscape of corporate financial restructuring, Brazil's approach to judicial recovery proceedings offers a unique perspective, especially concerning the role of debt-to-equity conversion.Administrative Sanction Law in a Brand-New Edition
23rd June 2023 The new edition of the book "Administrative Sanction Law" by Fábio Medina Osório, published by Thomson Reuters/Revista dos Tribunais, is now available on the Amazon platform and in physical bookstores.International seminar on administrative law in honor of professor Tomas Ramon Fernandez Fabio Medina Osório: The concept of administrative sanctions in Brazilian law
9th May 2023 The concept of administrative sanction is a recurrent theme in my doctrine. What are the new paradigms of the sanctioning administrative law in Brazil that must be considered within this context that we have been working on since 1999 and that involve the new proposed concept of administrative sanction in our doctrine and in the jurisprudence of the Brazilian courts, which have welcomed the doctrine of our book "Sanctioning Administrative Law", of the year 2000.THE FEDERAL ATTORNEY GENERAL´S OFFICE DURING JUSTICE FÁBIO MEDINA OSÓRIO´S TERM
16th February 2023 In 2016, at the beginning of the Michel Temer administration, Fábio Medina Osório was appointed Attorney-General of Brazil. In that capacity, he helped structure the transition and the beginning of Michel Temer's government. In this article, originally published on the Conjur portal, Fábio Medina Osório talks about his term as the head of the Federal Attorney General´s Office.THE BRAZILIAN FEDERAL SUPREME COURT (STF) AND THE SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE (STJ) CHALLENGE THE UNDERSTANDING FOR ANULMENT DUE TO LACK OF JURISDICTION IN THE LULA CASE
7th February 2023 On March 8th, 2021, when considering the Motions for Clarification in the Writ of Habeas Corpus (HC) No. 193,726, the honorable Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin, in a paradigmatic decision, granted the constitutional remedy in favor of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (who at the time did not occupy this position) to "declare the lack of jurisdiction of the 13th Federal Court of the Judicial Subsection of the city of Curitiba for the prosecution and trial of Criminal Actions no. 5046512-94. 2016.4.04.7000/PR (Triplex apartment in Guarujá), no. 5021365-32,2017,4,04,7000/PR (Estate in Atibaia), no. 5063130-17, 2018,4,04,7000/PR (Head Offices of Instituto Lula) and no. 5044305-83,2020,4,04,7000/PR (donations to Instituto Lula), determining the referral of the respective case records to the Judiciary Section of the Federal District" and further declaring, " the nullity only of the decision-making acts performed in the respective criminal actions, including the receipt of the criminal complaint, as a corollary and by force of the provisions of article 567 of the Brazilian Code of Criminal Procedure, and that the competent court should decide on the possibility of revalidation of the instructional acts". [1]- White-collar crime and investigations