NANOPARTICLE POLLUTION, ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMINAL LIABILITY AND LEGALITY PRINCIPLE: REFLECTIONS ON THE COMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNREGULATED CRIMINAL NORM IN ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES ACT

Authors

  • Mateus de Oliveira Fornasier Universidade Regional do Noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (Unijuí, Brasil)
  • Maiquel Ângelo Dezordi Wermuth Universidade Regional do Noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (Unijuí, Brasil)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/rfdufpr.v60i3.40748

Keywords:

Environment. Nanotechnologies. Criminal Law. Unregulated criminal norm.

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of environmental criminal liability related to pollution by nanoparticles, faced to the shortcomings that Environmental Crimes Act (Brazilian Law # 9.605/1998) presents when faced to the complexity raised by this question – which is revealed, particularly, in the fact that, being configured as unregulated criminal norm, article 56 and following of the mentioned Act require supplementation by other sources. However, there is still no rules in Brazil that address nanotechnology risk, which evokes this research problem: is there any possibility for this complementation through norms elaborated by other bodies, diverse from Legislative branch – i.e. the regulatory state agencies or even non-governmental institutions that emerge in today’s global legal pluralism? Hypotheses presented throughout the text do not neglect the fact that enabling the completion of unregulated criminal rules by the aforementioned legal pathways may represent an intolerable ease against fundamental guarantees provided to citizens by a pattern of Criminal Law typical of a Democratic State under the rule of law – particularly with regard to the legality principle. The purpose is, therefore, to reflect about the very effectiveness of environmental criminal law before degradation scenario resulting from indiscriminate release of nanoparticles, demonstrating that, in such cases, environmental protection could be achieved at higher levels of effectiveness through civil, administrative, and criminal alternative penalties, reaffirming, reflexively, the idea of subsidiarity of State’s jus puniendi.

Author Biographies

Mateus de Oliveira Fornasier, Universidade Regional do Noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (Unijuí, Brasil)

Doutor em Direito Público (Unisinos, Brasil). Professor do Mestrado em Direitos Humanos da Universidade Regional do Noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (Unijuí, Brasil). Advogado.

Maiquel Ângelo Dezordi Wermuth, Universidade Regional do Noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (Unijuí, Brasil)

Doutor em Direito Público (Unisinos, Brasil). Professor do Mestrado em Direitos Humanos da Universidade Regional do Noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (Unijuí, Brasil) e da Graduação em Direito pela Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Unisinos, Brasil). Advogado

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Published

2015-05-25

How to Cite

Fornasier, M. de O., & Wermuth, M. Ângelo D. (2015). NANOPARTICLE POLLUTION, ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMINAL LIABILITY AND LEGALITY PRINCIPLE: REFLECTIONS ON THE COMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNREGULATED CRIMINAL NORM IN ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES ACT. Revista Da Faculdade De Direito UFPR, 60(3), 189–216. https://doi.org/10.5380/rfdufpr.v60i3.40748

Issue

Vol. 60 No. 3 (2015)

Section

Artigos

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