Punishment in Electoral Courts: the principies of good faith and legal certain ty as parameters for proper interpretation of the iaw

Abstract

A legal opinion evinces the theoretical and practical importance of various constitutional principles and values, such as good faith, legal certainty, reasonableness, proportionality and purpose. Accordingly, a law, when drafted, should not conflict with these legal postulates, under penalty of unconstitutionality. In addition, the interpretation of the law must be current, that is, in line with the new conceptions of society, as they are understood these days. A law made for a given purpose may be turned to another end over time. Administrative and criminal offenses within the scope of the Electoral Justice do not escape these purposes; an insignificant injury, a mitigated crime, from the perspective of its statutory definition; and mutable electoral norms, mean that the interpreter has to guard against a detached analysis of the electoral rule, which could put the whole Brazilian legal system at risk. Disproportionate penalties, devoid of reasonableness, and not falling within the current context, cannot thrive under the Rule of Law.