The first panel of the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF), upon reviewing the Writ of Mandamus No. 33.864, issued a decision stating that a Brazilian national – even if native – may lose his/her Brazilian nationality and may even be extradited, provided that he had previously and willingly chosen to adopt foreign nationality.
The Justices, by majority, repelled the prevalence of item LVI of Article 5 of the Federal Constitution, which provides as follows: “No Brazilian national will be extradited, except those who sought naturalization if a common crime was committed before naturalization or involvement in the trafficking of narcotics and similar drugs can be proven pursuant to the law”.
The Justices repelled the above-mentioned legal provision with grounds on the 4th paragraph of Article 12 of the Federal Constitution, which establishes that: “The Brazilian citizen who obtains another nationality (…) will have his/her Brazilian nationality declared forfeited”. Such forfeiture will not take place only if the foreign law acknowledges the original nationality or if naturalization is mandatory pursuant to foreign law, for Brazilian nationals residing in a foreign state.
Justice Roberto Barroso, who delivered the opinion of the court, asserted that apart from the two cases in which Brazilian nationality is not forfeited, by willingly opting for foreign nationality, one no longer is entitled to the rights inherent to native Brazilians.
The decision is still subject to appeal to the collective panel of Justices of the Brazilian Supreme Court.