The Federal Supreme Court and federalism facing covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to propose reflections, based on the deductive method, on the formulation of the State adopted by the country and how it has shown itself throughout the pandemic. The 18th and 19th centuries inaugurated the federalism’s classic model characterized by the separation of competences – between private and exclusive. This distribution system was not enough to meet the progressive expansions attributed through the Union’s incumbencies. Cooperative federalism represents the new conformation of the federal State, further improved by the Bonn’s Fundamental Law, in 1949. This system is compatible with our cooperative federalism, adopted by the 1988 constituent in whom there is a coordination of competences and attributions of the different governing levels finding expression in the concurrent competences shared by the Union, States and the Federal District to legislate (art. 24, XII, CF) in common competence among them and also the Municipalities (art. 23, II, CF). Since we are facing a disease that affects the entire country the Federal Supreme Court has already established that the specific competences of the Union on epidemiological surveillance which resulted in the Act nº 13.979/2020 did not forbid the competence of other federation entities in regarding of the provision of health services. A strong proactive action by public agents is mainly required to fill gaps or omissions of the central government.