Criminal Liability of a Corporation (Legal Entity) In Brazilian Legal System

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21527/2176-6622.2022.57.9028

Keywords:

Palavras-chave. Ordenamento jurídico. Responsabilidade penal. Pessoa jurídica. Responsabilidade objetiva.

Abstract

Criminal Liability of a Corporation is a fervently debatable topic and has provoked favorable and unfavorable positions. This is a widely discussed topic in academic circles but the freshness of the topic is maintained even after years. Scholars who are unfavorable to Criminal liability rely on the guilty mind (individual culpability). They say that the legal system do not permit Criminal liability of a Corporation. On the other hand, there are scholars who are in favor of Criminal liability of Corporations and they argue that there must be a new conformation to the theory of crime that only contemplates guilty mind. There is also scholars who defends a collective guilty to explain Criminal liability of Corporation. We argue that the legal system imposes an objective criminal liability as a way of fighting crimes commited by Corporations with great economic power, with support of article 225, §3 of the Federal Constitution of 1988, which was regulated by Law no. 9.605/98 and Brazilian Penal Code.

Author Biographies

Vicente de Paula Maciel Júnior, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais – PUC Minas.

Pós-doutorado pela Universidade de Roma La Sapienza. Doutorado (1996) em Direito pela Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Juiz Federal no Tribunal Regional do Trabalho da 3ª Região. Professor e pesquisador em processos de ação coletiva.

Reginaldo Gonçalves Gomes, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais – PUC Minas.

Doutorando em Direito Processual pela Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais. Mestre em Direito pela Universidade de Itaúna; Pós-graduado em Ciências Penais pela Fundação Ministério Público de Minas Gerais e Pós-graduado em Processo: Grandes Transformações pela Universidade de Santa Catarina – Unisul em parceria com o curso LFG; Pós-graduação em Direito do Estado pela Universidade Anhanguera em parceria com o curso LFG; Professor. Email: regisgomes@yahoo.com.br

Downloads

Published

2022-05-30

How to Cite

Júnior, V. de P. M., & Gomes, R. G. (2022). Criminal Liability of a Corporation (Legal Entity) In Brazilian Legal System. Revista Direito Em Debate, 31(57), e9028. https://doi.org/10.21527/2176-6622.2022.57.9028

Issue

Vol. 31 No. 57 (2022): Revista Direito em Debate

Section

ARTICLES

License

By publishing in the Revista Direito em Debate, authors agree to the following terms:

Articles are licensed under the Creative Commons Atribuição 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0), which allows:

Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format;
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, including commercial use.

These permissions are irrevocable, provided the following terms are respected:

Attribution — authors must be properly credited, with a link to the license and indication of any modifications made;

No additional restrictions — no legal or technological measures may be applied that restrict the use permitted by the license.

Notices:

The license does not apply to elements in the public domain or covered by legal exceptions.
The license does not grant all rights required for specific uses (e.g., image rights, privacy, or moral rights).
The journal is not responsible for opinions expressed in the articles, which remain the sole responsibility of the authors. The Editor, with the support of the Editorial Committee, reserves the right to suggest or request modifications when necessary.
Only original scientific articles presenting research results of interest, not previously published or simultaneously submitted to another journal with the same purpose, will be accepted.

References to trademarks or specific products are intended solely for identification purposes and do not imply any promotional endorsement by the authors or the journal.

License Agreement (for articles published as of 2026): Authors retain copyright over their articles and grant the Revista Direito em Debate the right of first publication.