The Brazilian Economic Freedom Rights Act and its amendments to the Brazilian Civil Code

a critical analysis in comparison with the rules established on the Brazilian Consumer Protection Code

Abstract

The Brazilian Federal Law n. 13,874 of 2019 established a set of standards for Economic Freedom rights in Brazil, while also amending provisions, on the Brazilian Civil Code related to interpretation and adjustment of contracts terms, the general clause of “social function of contracts” (função social do contrato) and the regulation of investment funds, in addition to the amendment of additional legislation. In this sense, this paper aims to analyze whether these innovations brought by Law 13,874 of 2019 have modified the protection of consumer rights, which are established on the Brazilian Consumer Protection Code (Law n. 8,078 of 1990). The main hypothesis for this research is that consumer rights were not regulated by Law 13,874 of 2019, despite the fact the regulation of consumer rights are intertwined with the Brazilian Civil Code. The first section of the paper corresponds to an analysis of the new principles, rights and guarantees which were established by Law 13,874 of 2019 and target the economic development of the country. On the second part, the paper shall analyze the preexisting rules for piercing the corporate veil under Brazilian law, the standards for interpretation of contracts’ terms, the general clause of “social function of contracts” in face of Law 13,874 of 2019. Subsequently, the paper shall the rules regarding investment funds and the protection of effective consumers of goods and services. In terms of methodology, the research is mainly based on the hermeneutic, dialectical and argumentative methods, following a critical-methodological approach and including prospective research and exploratory research (literature) by means of indirect exploration. The paper concludes that although consumer rights are part of Private Law, they are still regulated by the Brazilian Consumer Protection Code.