The Assembly of the Republic approved this Monday (May 26), with unanimous support from the Frelimo, Podemos, Renamo, and MDM benches, the law that transfers the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) to the supervision of the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR).
From now on, SERNIC will hold a status similar to that of the Judiciary Police, no longer falling under the Ministry of the Interior.
In his address, the Minister of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs, Mateus Saize, emphasized that the new law “ends the dual subordination” of SERNIC — which until now was split between the Ministry of the Interior and the Public Prosecutor’s Office — thereby reinforcing its role as a scientific support body for judicial authorities, without prejudice to its powers of arrest and the use of coercive measures.
The new legal framework grants SERNIC greater autonomy and aligns it with the Criminal Procedure Code and the Organic Law of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, both of which already envisaged oversight and leadership of the agency by the Attorney General.
Expanded Mandate and Specialized Units
Among the new responsibilities are the investigation of crimes involving wildlife and flora trafficking, counterfeiting of currency and currency-equivalent securities, and organ trafficking.
The law also provides for the creation of specialized units to combat cybercrime, prevent and suppress corruption, and recover assets — a response to the complex nature of modern crimes, which increasingly demand greater technical and judicial coordination.
With this reform, SERNIC becomes established as an autonomous body, dedicated to scientific criminal investigation, operating under the exclusive authority of the Attorney General of the Republic.
Source: Notícias
