O Princípio da insignificância e sua aplicação aos crimes de furto e descaminho: uma análise bibliográfica e jurisprudencial

Abstract

This undergraduate final paper aims to analyze the institution of the principle of immateriality, especially comparing its application both to the crimes of theft and tax evasion. The methodology involved bibliographical and empirical research on jurisprudence by Brazilian higher courts. This paper's goal is to answer the following question: What particularities may lead to applying the principle in such different ways regarding each of the mentioned crimes? From a theoretical framework based on Eugenio Raúl Zaffaroni’s ‘Direito penal do autor’ and Howard Saul Becker’s ‘Outsider’, the hypothesis states that the principle of equality is violated if there is no uniformity when applying the principle of immateriality. The conclusion points out that, in fact, the perpetrator's personal circumstances interfere in the magistrate’s decision to apply or not the principle of immateriality, nevertheless this being an innappropriate practice.