Law 14.010, of June 10, 2020, which deals with the Emergency and Transitory Legal Regime of the Private Law legal relations – RJET in the period of the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19), that is, as of March 20, 2020, was sanctioned by president Jair Bolsonaro with vetoes, and was published this Friday, June 12, 2020, in the Federal Official Gazette.
Among the various provisions, we highlight those related to the statute of limitations and decadence, as to private legal entities and on the General Law of Data Protection, Law No. 13,709, of August 14, 2018 (“LGPD“), namely:
Prescription and Decadence
. Article 3 of the aforementioned Law No. 14,010 deals with the statute of limitations periods, in which they are considered to be impeded or suspended, as the case may be, from June 12, 2020 until October 30, 2020. It should be emphasized that it does not apply while the specific hypotheses of impediment, suspension, and interruption of the statute of limitations provided for in the national legal system persist. As for the statute of limitations, the provisions of the article also apply, as per the proviso foreseen in the Civil Code, in its article 207.
Private Legal Entities
. The general meeting may be held by electronic means, regardless of the provision in the legal entity’s articles of incorporation, until October 30, 2020, and the manifestation of the participants may occur by any electronic means indicated by the administrator, which ensures the identification of the participant and the security of the vote, and will produce all the legal effects of a signature in person.
LGPD
. It was defined that the administrative sanctions and fines provided for in articles 52, 53, and 54 of the LGPD will come into force on August 1, 2021, and the other articles of the LGPD will come into force on May 3, 2021, as provided for in Provisional Measure 959 of 2020.
Eight (8) articles of the legislative proposal presented by the National Congress were vetoed, among which we highlight the content of articles 4, 6, and 7 and their respective vetoes, as follows:
- Article 4 mentioned that associations, companies, and foundations had to observe restrictions on the holding of face-to-face meetings and assemblies until October 30, 2020, subject to the health determinations of local authorities. This article was vetoed under the argument that it goes against the public interest by generating legal uncertainty, since the matter is in disagreement with the recent edition of Provisional Measure No. 931 of 2020, and that the veto could not cover part of the provision referring to associations and foundations, excluding companies.
- Articles 6 and 7, on the other hand, which provided that the consequences resulting from the pandemic in the execution of contracts would not have retroactive legal effects, and the increase in inflation, exchange rate variation, devaluation or replacement of the monetary standard are not considered unforeseeable facts, were also vetoed. The veto was vetoed because it was understood that the text goes against the public interest, since the Brazilian legal system already provides appropriate mechanisms to mitigate this issue, such as force majeure, unforeseeable circumstances, and the theories of unforeseeable circumstances and excessive onerosity.
The corporate team at DDSA – De Luca, Derenusson e Schuttoff Advogados is available to clarify any doubts or to help with any issues involving the subject.