The determination of a minimum amount of compensation in the Military Justice of the Union

DOI: https://zenodo.org/records/18300367

Abstract

This article examines the possibility of applying Article 387, IV, of the Brazilian Code of Criminal Procedure to the Military Justice of the Union, specifically with regard to the determination of a minimum amount for compensation for damages caused by a criminal offense. Initially, it analyzes the regime of civil liability arising from criminal wrongdoing, as well as the legislative evolution that has strengthened the protection of victims in ordinary criminal proceedings. It then describes the oscillating jurisprudential position of the Superior Military Court on the matter. The study demonstrates that the Brazilian legal system has established a genuine criminal reparations system for victims, grounded in the Federal Constitution, international human rights norms, the Criminal Code and the Military Criminal Code, the Law on Criminal Enforcement, and institutional policies of the National Council of Justice and the National Council of the Public Prosecution Service. It argues that the omission of the Military Code of Criminal Procedure on the subject constitutes a legal gap to be filled by the subsidiary application of the Code of Criminal Procedure, pursuant to Article 3(a) of the military procedural statute, without violating the principle of specialty, the “nature of military criminal proceedings,” or the prohibition of analogy in malam partem. The thesis advanced concludes that the determination of a minimum compensatory amount is not only legally permissible but also promotes the dignity of the victim, enhances the effectiveness and celerity of judicial protection, and strengthens systemic coherence between military criminal procedure and the contemporary constitutional model of comprehensive protection of the injured party.