On March 20, the Ministry of Justice of the Nation issued Resolution 143/2025, which establishes, for the purposes of this article, the implementation of the Federal Criminal Procedure Code (hereinafter "CPPF") for all cases initiated in the Economic Criminal Court as of midnight on August 00.00 of this year.
It should be remembered that this is the jurisdiction where customs and other economic crimes are primarily investigated.
This new Code, which is already implemented in other jurisdictions, provides for an accusatory model that establishes a modern, informal, oral, and agile system, with investigations carried out exclusively by prosecutors.
Thus, the CPPF establishes an adversarial system of strict separation of functions, in which both the prosecution and the defense present their arguments and evidence, and the judges control and decide, without getting involved in the theory of the case outlined by the parties.
The entire process essentially involves oral and public hearings, during which prosecutors compile an "investigation file" that neither the judges nor the defense attorneys can access until a formal accusation is filed or a restrictive measure is requested, which only the judge can order.
Furthermore, the CPPF not only encourages the conclusion of collaborative agreements with those under investigation and the use of special investigative techniques, such as undercover agents, revealing agents, informants, and controlled delivery, but also grants prosecutors greater authority to pursue criminal proceedings and achieve alternative solutions to the conflict.
Despite the potential benefits of implementing the new system, its effective implementation will require meeting the needs that operators have been raising since the resolution discussed here was issued, as well as addressing the specificities of customs crime investigations.
In relation to the latter, the following concerns arise that have not yet been analyzed:
- It is necessary to establish a link, currently lacking, between the customs service and prosecutors to coordinate everything related to the investigation of customs offenses in the preparatory phase, as well as new special investigative techniques, especially "controlled delivery."
- The same can be said regarding the so-called "dual jurisdiction" regarding the seizure of goods and the other powers of the prevention force established by the Customs Code. In this regard, it should be noted that this legislation establishes additional and specific powers beyond those mentioned in the CPPF.
- Furthermore, considering the immediacy and speed that this new model aims to achieve in practice and the potentially complex nature of customs matters, it would be advisable to provide new training, as well as direct links with customs technical personnel who can respond to questions that may arise during a hearing.
- On the other hand, it is worth asking whether it is still necessary for the customs service to continue to have the possibility of filing a complaint or whether it is better to follow the position recently adopted by Decree 274/2025 regarding the Financial Information Unit (UIF), which repealed the regulations that granted it this power.
For all these reasons, for this new CPPF to function and achieve its intended objectives, it is important that judges and prosecutors adapt to their new roles, as well as taking into account the need for infrastructure and resources to properly conduct oral hearings, all of which was recently requested by the court's prosecutors.
Lawyer. Specialist in Criminal Law from the Universidad Austral. Professor of Customs Criminal Law at various public and private universities. Author and contributor to books and articles on this specialty. Currently, he is a partner at the Durrieu Abogados law firm, in charge of the Customs Criminal Law Department.
