Tranational armed participation and Military Criminal Law: residual military link and Military Prosecutor's Office action
DOI: https://zenodo.org/records/20927947
Keywords:
military criminal law, international humanitarian law, mercenarism, private military companies, Military Prosecutor's OfficeAbstract
The article examines the participation of Brazilian nationals in foreign armed conflicts through a problem that remains insufficiently stabilized in military criminal doctrine: the transition between an external fact with no military relevance, a possible ordinary criminal offence, international cooperation, and a hypothesis of military-legal interest. It argues that automatically classifying such conduct as mercenarism is technically inadequate, since the category of mercenary under International Humanitarian Law has a narrow scope and cumulative requirements. The article proposes the concept of a transnational residual military link, understood as the mobilization, in a foreign armed context, of training, experience, networks, reputation, functional identity, secrecy, or statutory duties connected to the Brazilian military sphere. The method is a systematized legal-documentary review, with an analytical classification matrix and an exploratory documentary component, based on international norms, Brazilian legislation, specialized literature, legal articles, and non-operational public typologies. The article concludes that the Military Prosecutor’s Office should be guided by prudential triage criteria, distinguishing direct military jurisdiction, qualified preventive interest, international cooperation, ordinary criminal jurisdiction, and non-application of military jurisdiction.
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