Criminal minority age under Brazilian law

Authors

  • Patricia Helena Massa Universidade de São Paulo, USP, Brasil image/svg+xml

Keywords:

Criminal minority, Criminal responsibility, Statute of the Child and Adolescent, Entrenched clause, Criminal policy

Abstract

Given the social insecurity caused by property crimes practiced by minors, the author analyzes criminal minority under Brazilian law and the demands to lower the age of criminal responsibility. The text addresses research by UNICAMP according to which the juvenile offender is predominantly from São Paulo, white, lives with the family and attended school, contradicting the stereotyped reference, and shows a recidivism rate of 17%, far below the 80% found among those over eighteen. The author examines the legislative evolution, from the discernment criterion to the biological method of the 1940 Penal Code, which made minors under eighteen non-imputable by absolute legal presumption. Finally, she discusses article 228 of the Constitution, which elevates this limit to a guarantee and entrenched clause.

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Author Biography

Patricia Helena Massa, Universidade de São Paulo, USP, Brasil

Procuradora do Estado - Mestranda em Direito pela Universidade de São Paulo.

References

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Published

1993-10-01

How to Cite

MASSA, Patricia Helena. Criminal minority age under Brazilian law. Brazilian Journal of Criminal Science, São Paulo, v. 4, n. 4, p. 126–132, 1993. Disponível em: https://publicacoes.ibccrim.org.br/index.php/RBCCRIM/article/view/3275. Acesso em: 20 oct. 2026.
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