Companies manage to avoid submitting to the new Call Center rules

Two aerial companies have obtained judicial decisions to avoid fulfilling part of the new Call Center rules. Due to the volume of businesses in Brazil, such companies will not be obligated to maintain a 24 hour a day  attendance, provide the option of personal attendance in every menu, solve complains within five days or generate a protocol number for every call.

The judge of the 21st federal civil court of São Paulo, who analyzed the Writ of Mandamus nº.2008.61.00.029116-0, understood that the Decree 6.523/08 ‘‘cannot be contrary to the law which it regulates, creating rights, imposing obligations or prohibitions which extrapolate the limits drew by the formal normative act, under penalty of affronting the principles of legality and separation of powers, since the making of law is under the scope, usually, of the Legislative Power.

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

CNJ launches National Record of Administrative Improbity

The National Counsel of Justice created on 12.2.2008, through Resolution nº. 44 (DJ 11.28.2007), the National Record of Administrative Improbity. In it, there will be data of persons of companies which were condemned for illegal administration of public resources. The main goal of the system is to avoid that those condemned for illegalities may enter in contracts with the public administration.

LABOR LAW

New jurisprudential orientations

The Superior Labor Court (TST) published jurisprudential orientations nsº. 367 to 372, of the SDI – 1; 149 to 153, of the SDI – 2; and, the transitory jurisprudential orientations 62 to 67, of the SDI – 1. Among the highlights, there is the OJ nº. 369 of the SDI – 1, though which the provisory stability to union delegates is forbidden, for not being included in the provisions of article 8th, paragraph VIII of Constitution of the Republic. All jurisprudential orientations can be found in TST’s website: www.tst.jus.br.

CORPORATE LAW

Decision of STJ strengthens law of judicial recovery

The Second Section of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), analyzing the Conflict of Competence nº. 68.173-SP (2006/0176543-8), demonstrated the Court’s intention in reinforcing the terms of the Judicial Recovery Law, not allowing interference from the Justice of Labor in the plans of recovery of companies in difficulties and providing these companies with an extended deadline before suffering judicial executions. The Court’s idea is to allow that the company in fact recovers e not only that the mechanisms of the new law grant only an extra-life before the companies bankrupt (DJ 12.4.2008).

The suspension of corporate e-mail for misuse is legitimate

In the judgment of the AIRR nº AIRR no 1649/2001-001-03-00.7, the 7th Court of the TST sustained the understanding that it is legitimate, and not invasion of privacy, the suspension of employee who uses corporate e-mail to send or receive pornographic messages. To base his decision, Minister Pedro Paulo Manus, ruler in charged of the task of writing the report on the case, understood that such act ‘‘is not about intromission in the employee’s private life, however, it is about the disrespect of internal policy which, expressly, prohibits the use of corporate e-mail to divulge pornographic material’’.

TAX LAW

Law nº 11.827 stipulates new rules regarding the incidence of IPI, PIS/PASEP and COFINS

The Law nº 11.827, of 11.20.2008, alters the rules previously applicable (Laws 10.833 and 11.727), regarding the incidence of the Tax on Industrialized Products (IPI), of the Contribution to the PIS/PASEP and of the Contribution for the Financing of Social Security (COFINS), which fall upon the internal market and on importation.

Decree nº 41.557 brings new rules for the collect of ICMS in Rio de Janeiro

The Decree nº 41.557, of 11.18.2008, was edited by the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro and implemented new rules regarding the collect of ICMS, differentiating the payment of the tax incident over the acquisition of machines, equipments, parts and accessories negotiated in the period from 11.19.2008 to 12.31.2010 by industrial establishment located in the State of Rio de Janeiro and destined to integrate its income in imports, internal acquisitions and inter-state operations.

Fábio Henrique Catão and Ana Paula Sá Borges are the new partners

In elections held during the ordinary annual meeting of partners of the Firm, the new partners Fábio Henrique Catão (FHC), from Recife, and Ana Paula Sá Borges (APS), from Rio de Janeiro, were elected. Fábio has been in the Firm for almost a decade and currently answers for the criminal thematic revision, attending to all matters of the area which come to his care, as well as integrating the cell REC 01, providing support in matters of greater complexity. Ana Paula entered the Firm just last year, however with the responsibility of running the unit of Rio de Janeiro, surprised all with her performance, which is now recognized with her rise to partnership.

Ordinary meeting of partners of 2008 in Recife

The ordinary annual meeting of partners of Trigueiro Fontes Advogados occurred this month in the city of Recife, and was the opportunity in which the closing year was analyzed and the strategy for the development of the Firm for the year of 2009 was drafted. After three days of intense work, partners were able to fraternize and, at the same time, discuss what was wrong and what was right.

Fábio de Possídio Egashira publishes book

The partner Fábio de Possídio Egashira published the book ‘‘The reconstruction of the contractual theory under the scope of the principle of objective good-faith in the 2002 Civil Code’’. According to Fábio, ‘‘the objective goaled in the assignment was to investigate the shift of the cultural paradigm and the new spirit embodied in the 2002 Civil Code for contractual relationships’’. Roberto Trigueiro Fontes, in the presentation of the book, highlighted that the work published celebrates the first 15 years of Trigueiro Fontes Advogados and, further, that ‘’the reading of the book will base arguments for both scholars of the matter as well as operators of Law, being them lawyers, judges or prosecutors’’.