The early recognition of prescription

the interest to act in criminal proceedings and the Public Prosecutor's Office

Authors

  • Maurício Antonio Ribeiro Lopes Universidade Estadual Paulista, Unesp, Brasil image/svg+xml

Keywords:

Interesse de agir, Prescrição penal, Ação penal, Justa causa, Ministério Público

Abstract

Starting from a concrete case in which the judge rejected an indictment for negligent bodily harm by anticipating recognition of the extinction of punishability through prescription based on the sentence eventually to be applied, the author examines whether such a procedure offends the principle of mandatory criminal prosecution. He discusses the interest to act as a condition of the action, extensible from civil to criminal procedure, correlating it with just cause and fumus boni juris. He argues that the interest to act presupposes adequacy, necessity and utility of the jurisdictional measure, requiring a perfunctory anticipation of the merits. He concludes that, absent utility in a conviction given inevitable prescription, the interest to act is lacking, making the rejection of the indictment correct.

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Author Biography

Maurício Antonio Ribeiro Lopes, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Unesp, Brasil

Promotor de Justiça e professor de Direito Penal e de Direito Processual Penal da UNESP.

References

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Published

1993-07-01

How to Cite

LOPES, Maurício Antonio Ribeiro. The early recognition of prescription: the interest to act in criminal proceedings and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Brazilian Journal of Criminal Science, São Paulo, v. 3, n. 3, p. 128–150, 1993. Disponível em: https://publicacoes.ibccrim.org.br/index.php/RBCCRIM/article/view/3261. Acesso em: 20 oct. 2026.

Issue

Section

National Doctrine
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