The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, sanctioned Law 496, a new regulation that introduces Article 115-A to the Penal Code, allowing the victim's pardon to be a cause for the extinction of the penalty in a delimited list of crimes. This reform aims to offer an alternative path for resolving criminal conflicts considered to be of lesser severity. According to Article 115-A, the victim's pardon may be applied in the following crimes:
- Simple culpable homicide
- Simple personal injuries and minor culpable injuries
- Simple theft
- Unjustified appropriation
- Fraud and other scams
- Usurpation
- Damages
- Crimes committed with a vehicle crash, as long as the economic damage does not seriously affect the victim's assets
- Intellectual property crimes that do not pose a danger to public health
- Calumny and injury
- Inviolability of the home and inviolability of secrecy
- Forgery of documents to the detriment of individuals
The law states that for the application of this mechanism, the same conditions provided for in Article 2022 of the Penal Code, which regulates the waiver of punitive claims, will be taken into account. In addition, it is clear that the pardon will not be applicable in crimes related to sexual freedom and integrity, which are expressly excluded.
This reform seeks, in the words of the Government, to facilitate a more agile and less burdensome resolution for cases that do not involve high social danger, always guaranteeing the express will of the victim and the controls of the justice system.
