Rio de Janeiro cosmetic testing ban
Court Decision
In Effect
May 27, 2021
Summary
On 27 May 2021, the Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) of Brazil, sitting in plenary with Justice Gilmar Mendes as rapporteur, issued its judgment in ADI No. 5.995 on Rio de Janeiro State Law No. 7.814 of 15 December 2017, filed by ABIHPEC (Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Higiene Pessoal, Perfumaria e Cosméticos) in 2018. By a 10–1 majority, the STF upheld the law’s prohibition on using animals for developing, experimenting, or testing cosmetic, personal hygiene, perfume, and cleaning products within Rio de Janeiro; by a 6–5 majority, it struck down the same law’s provisions restricting the sale of animal-tested products from other states and mandating “cruelty-free” labelling, as exceeding state legislative competence. This decision refined the constitutional boundary between state competence (testing within state territory) and federal competence (interstate trade, national labelling) first established in the Amazonas ruling (ADI No. 5.996, 15 April 2020) — a distinction subsequently applied in federal Law No. 15.183/2025, which banned cosmetic animal testing across Brazil and addressed labelling nationally.
Background Context
Rio de Janeiro State Law No. 7.814/2017, enacted on 15 December 2017, prohibited animal testing for cosmetics and related products within the state and included provisions restricting the sale of animal-tested products from other states and requiring “cruelty-free” labelling. Before the 2021 ruling, several Brazilian states had adopted similar bans — São Paulo (Law 15.316/2014), Amazonas (Law 289/2015), and others. The STF had previously upheld the Amazonas state ban unanimously in ADI 5.996 on 15 April 2020, establishing that states have constitutional competence to prohibit cosmetic animal testing — documented in a separate Development record. ABIHPEC filed ADI 5.995 in 2018 challenging the Rio de Janeiro law on grounds of federal legislative exclusivity over interstate commerce and animal experimentation. The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (Procurador-Geral da República Augusto Aras) submitted an opinion supporting partial upholding of the law, acknowledging state competence over testing while raising issues around commerce and labelling. Humane Society International and allied advocacy organisations supported both state laws throughout the legal challenges. Federal Law No. 15.183/2025, effective 31 July 2025, subsequently banned cosmetic animal testing across Brazil at the national level, explicitly referencing the 2021 STF ruling on state competence as part of its constitutional context.
System Impact
System Scale Direction
System Contraction
Type
Alters Legal Basis
Significance
Moderate
The STF plenary issued its judgment on 27 May 2021 in ADI 5.995. By a 10–1 majority, the court upheld the provisions of Rio de Janeiro Law 7.814/2017 prohibiting animal use in cosmetic and related product development, experimentation, and testing within the state. By a 6–5 majority, the court declared unconstitutional the provisions restricting sale of animal-tested products from other Brazilian states and requiring “no animal testing” labelling declarations. The decision confirmed that Rio de Janeiro authorities may enforce the testing prohibition against laboratories and companies conducting cosmetic development and testing within the state, while manufacturers and distributors from other states may continue to sell animal-tested products in Rio de Janeiro. Subsequent legal analyses published through 2025 treat the 2021 ruling as settled precedent confirming state competence over testing prohibitions and federal competence over interstate commerce and labelling. Federal Law No. 15.183/2025 (effective 31 July 2025) subsequently enacted a national ban on animal testing for cosmetic ingredients and products and addressed labelling at the federal level, building on the constitutional framework established by the 2020 Amazonas and 2021 Rio de Janeiro rulings.
Anticipated Effects
If implemented as written and enforced by Rio de Janeiro state authorities, Law 7.814/2017 as upheld would require facilities in Rio de Janeiro that use animals for cosmetic and related product development and testing to cease those activities or relocate testing to jurisdictions without equivalent bans.
The invalidation of commercialisation and labelling provisions means manufacturers testing animals in other Brazilian states or abroad may continue to sell those products in Rio de Janeiro, limiting the ruling’s effect on product availability and consumer information in the state market.
If the STF’s constitutional demarcation between state testing competence and federal commerce/labelling competence continues to be applied consistently, Brazilian states may enact and enforce further cosmetic testing bans without federal constitutional challenge, while labelling and import/sales restrictions would require federal-level action — which was provided by federal Law No. 15.183/2025.
Significance Rationale
The decision directly concerns one Brazilian state and one sector (cosmetics and personal care testing). No quantified animal number changes are documented in available sources. However, the ruling is the first STF decision to draw the constitutional line between state competence (testing) and federal competence (interstate commerce, labelling), a distinction directly applied in subsequent federal legislation. This constitutional demarcation gives the ruling broader structural significance than the Amazonas ruling, though both are Moderate within ASI’s operational framework — one state, one sector, no documented system-level scale change.
Within The System
Key Actors
The Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF), sitting in plenary with 11 justices, issued the judgment. Justice Gilmar Mendes served as rapporteur (relator). ABIHPEC filed ADI 5.995 in 2018 and lost on the testing prohibition question. The State of Rio de Janeiro (represented by the ALERJ legislative assembly) was the respondent. Procurador-Geral da República Augusto Aras submitted an opinion supporting partial upholding of the law. Humane Society International and its Brazilian affiliate publicly supported the law and reported on the decision. Federal Law No. 15.183/2025 subsequently enacted at national level what Rio de Janeiro’s commercialisation and labelling provisions could not achieve at state level.
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