Brazil's Supreme Court Moves 3–0 to Strike Down 'Marco Temporal' Law

Overview

• Ministers Gilmar Mendes (rapporteur), Flávio Dino and Cristiano Zanin have voted to invalidate Law 14,701/2023, with seven votes still to be filed in the virtual session.
• Gilmar Mendes proposes declaring the law unconstitutional and ordering the Union to finish all pending Indigenous land demarcations within a decade, citing prolonged state omission.
• The rapporteur would keep procedural rules such as state and municipal participation in demarcations and full publication of Funai records, incorporating conciliation commission proposals for Congress to consider.
• His vote rejects clauses that barred expanding already demarcated lands and narrows compensation for good‑faith improvements to the date of formal administrative recognition, while safeguarding acts already performed in ongoing procedures.
• The Senate recently approved a constitutional amendment to entrench the cutoff and sent it to the Chamber, and Dino stated such a PEC would be materially unconstitutional for infringing fundamental Indigenous rights.