Security measures and their limitations

Abstract

The article examines the limits that must govern security measures under Brazilian criminal law, starting from the premise that, like penalties, they carry an afflictive character and constitute forms of social control, such that the State cannot exercise its ius puniendi indefinitely or perpetually. Through dogmatic and case-law analysis, in light of the principles of legality, proportionality, equality, minimal intervention, and humanity, as well as the requirements of the Rule of Law, the author examines the statute of limitations and the indeterminate duration provided for in the Criminal Code, pointing out its unconstitutionality for violating legal certainty and the prohibition of perpetual punishment. He concludes that the security measure applied to a partially imputable offender must be limited to the sentence fixed and replaced in the judgment, while that applied to a non-imputable offender must be limited to the maximum penalty abstractly prescribed for the offense, with penal execution ceasing at the end of that term even if dangerousness persists, in which case confinement should take on a purely administrative character.