Brazil, 1st Public Treasury Court, 3 March 2022, Processo No. 1049641-77.2020.8.26.0053

Case overview

Country
Brazil
Case ID
Processo No. 1049641-77.2020.8.26.0053
Decision date
Deciding body (English)
1st Public Treasury Court
Deciding body (Original)
1a Vara de Fazenda Pública
Type of body
Court
Type of Court (material scope)
Administrative Court
Type of jurisdiction
Single jurisdiction system
Type of Court (territorial scope)
Local Court
Instance
1st Instance
Area
Utilities (energy, telecom, water - access to essential business/goods)
Vulnerability groups
Homeless people
Outcome of the decision
Claim upheld
General Summary

The Attorney General and the Prosecutor’s Office of the State of São Paulo filed a public civil action, “ação civil pública” requesting the restoration of the “Bom Prato” program, which offers free meals to people without a house.

The Plaintiffs alleged that the service was interrupted on September 20, 2020, due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and that, by the injunction of October 22, 2020, another judge had already ordered that the service be resumed. The Court ruled that the action was admissible, following the right to food, and ordered the State to continue providing the "Bom Prato" service free of charge to homeless people.

Facts of the case

The Attorney General and the Prosecutor's Office of the State of São Paulo filed a public civil action, "ação civil pública", against the Public Treasury of the State of São Paulo, seeking the re-establishment of the free and integral supply of all meals by the "Bom Prato" program to homeless people, in all the restaurant units and municipalities that had adhered to this system. The Plaintiffs allege that the interruption or restriction of the social benefit by the Public Treasury, as of September 30, 2020, violated the guarantees of the right to primary conditions of life, adequate food, and health, due to the evident difficulty of the beneficiaries in obtaining sufficient funds, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The claim consisted in ordering the State of São Paulo to immediately reestablish the program for homeless people and the maintenance of all meals.

Type of measure challenged
Local government measure
Measures, actions, remedies claimed
The re-establishment of the "Bom Prato" program
Individual / collective enforcement
Action brought by a qualified entity in the interest of a specific group of claimants for the purpose of collective redress measures such as damages or restitutions and annulment of the administrative decision.
Nature of the parties
  • Claimant(s)
    Public
  • Defendant(s)
    Public
Type of procedure
Ordinary procedures
Reasoning of the deciding body

First, the Court highlighted the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on economic and social activities, affecting in a relevant way the homeless population, who obtain their income from informal services and donations from individuals. It also pointed out that this population suffers from hunger, which causes them to seek free food services maintained by the State of São Paulo.

Secondly, The Court analyzed the right to food and its connection with the right to life and health. He emphasized the duty of the State to guarantee these rights fully. Likewise, any restriction to these rights constitutes a social step backwards.

Thirdly, concerning the "Bom Prato" food supply program, he stressed the need to continue with the program for the effective promotion of fundamental rights, even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusions of the deciding body

The Court ruled that the action was admissible, ordering the State Treasury of the State of São Paulo to continue providing the program's services during COVID-19's state of calamity. The Court highlighted that Article 6 of the Federal Constitution recognizes the fundamental right to food as intrinsically linked to the right to life, health, and dignity. Hence, the Court found that the “Bom Prato” service or program had to resume for free in order to provide people currently in a situation of poverty and distress, food and to safeguard their inalienable rights.

Fundamental Right(s) involved
  • Right to health (inc. right to vaccination, right to access to reproductive health)
  • Right to food; Right to primary conditions of life
Fundamental Right(s) instruments (constitutional provisions, international conventions and treaties)
  • Right to health, Art. 6, Brazilian Federal Constitution
  • Right to food, Art. 6, Brazilian Federal Constitution
  • Right to primary conditions of life, judicial interpretation and Art. 6, Brazilian Federal Constitution
Rights and freedoms specifically identified as (possibly) conflicting with the right to health
Health v. right to food and right to primary conditions of life
Other notes

On "type of measure challenged": local government measure (São Paulo, Brazil). The free and integral supply of all meals by the public assistance program, "Bom Prato", for homeless people in all the Restaurant Units and Municipalities that had adhered to this system. The program was created through Decree No. 45547/2000.

On "type of procedure": "Ação Civil pública" is an action to declare liability for damage caused to the environment, consumers, property, and rights with value (Act. 7.347/1985, Art. 13.105/2015 art. 300).

Additional resources
Link to "Bom Prato" state program regulation
Author of the case note
William Ivan Gallo Aponte, Researcher, Externado University of Colombia; PUCPR, Brazil