The Brazilian anti-corruption law : a new way to control the relationship between public administration and the private sector

Corruption is a very serious problem in Brazil. Since 1990, more than 50 laws have been enacted to combat the misuse of public resources. Law 12.846, which entered into force in 2013, has been commonly known as the “Corporate Anti-Corruption Law.” Law 12.846/2013 emphasizes private entities despite the traditional moral system, which refreshes the Brazilian legal scheme of anti-corruption programs. In addition, it focuses on prevention. Thus, the objective of this paper is to examine the main characteristics of this Law, especially those that are different from the traditional Brazilian norms and seems to present weaknesses. Furthermore, it seeks to analyze whether the distinct rationality brought within the general scope of normative behavior is actually achieved in the Law’s provisions. The methodology of the work is logic-deductive through examination of the Law itself. Te analysis is divided into three sections. First, the paper presents the context in which the Law was promulgated and sequentially indicates the scope of the proscribed conduct and the judicial and administrative processes of punishment set forth by the Law. Further, the paper analyzes the doctrines of objective responsibility and the independence of transactions and occurrences. In addition, the paper critically examines the application of the Law to foreign entities. The final section points out the important role that the Law has played in spreading the culture of integrity, in an embryonic stage connected with the Law’s enactment. Nevertheless, there are several shortcomings in the Law, especially in the administrative, procedural aspects and in the independence of instances, both of which should be considered and improved in this construction of new rationality