STF Justice Moraes Reinstates Municipal Ban on Fireworks in São Paulo

By Iolanda Fonseca

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Thursday, June 27th, Federal Supreme Court (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes decided to revoke his prior ruling and reinstate the ban on handling, use, flaring, and release of fireworks in the city of São Paulo.

The minister had granted an injunction in April to suspend the law, on the basis that municipal legislation could not impose more significant restrictions than applicable federal legislation.

Now, Alexandre de Moraes approved a petition filed by São Paulo City Hall, which argued that it did not intend to interfere in a matter governed by the federal legislation, but rather sought to ensure health and environment within the city.

The Justice’s decision will remain in effect until the full Supreme Court has ruled on the matter. Sanctioned by Mayor Bruno Covas in 2018, the São Paulo Appellate Court suspended the law. Under Justice Moraes’ ruling, the efficacy of the law has been restored until final judgment by the STF.

“I note, therefore, that there is a solid scientific basis for restricting the use of these products as a protective measure for public health and the environment,” said the Justice.

“The fact that the legislator has only limited the use of fireworks having a loud sound impact, maintaining the potential use of non-percussive or low-level noise products, seems, in a preliminary judgment, to reasonably accommodate the conflicting interests,” he added.

Alexandre de Moraes recalled that most STF case law allows states and municipalities to have stricter rules on health and the environment.

According to the decision, the Justice believes that “the protection of health and the environment are issues that concern the performance of all federal entities, including states and municipalities, which can issue stricter protective rules, based on their regional specificities and the primacy of their interests, as the case may be.”

In São Paulo, the municipality “seems to have intended to promote a higher standard of protection for health and the environment, issued within reasonable limits of the regular exercise of legislative powers by the municipality,” said Justice de Moraes.